Hong Kong fourth wave: more than 70 people evacuated from rehabilitation centre over Covid-19 outbreak fears; 26 new cases logged
- Residents and staff at Po Leung Kuk On Tai Rehabilitation Centre in Kwun Tong sent into quarantine after resident confirmed as infected
- Health authorities warn of an increased risk of transmission over Lunar New Year holiday and urge public to remain vigilant
Twenty-one cases were locally transmitted, five of which were untraceable, while another five infections were imported, including ones involving a domestic helper from Indonesia and a family of four from India. About 20 people also tested preliminary-positive for the virus.
The city’s coronavirus tally stands at 10,693 cases. Two more patients succumbed to the disease – an 82-year-old woman with underlying health conditions who died on Monday evening and an 87-year-old man with chronic disease who died on Tuesday night – taking the number of related fatalities to 188.
More than 40 residents and over 30 staff at the Po Leung Kuk On Tai Rehabilitation Centre in Kwun Tong were sent into quarantine on Monday evening over fears of a possible outbreak at the facility. A resident was among the latest confirmed infected, while two employees also tested preliminary-positive, one of whom previously visited an infected family member while asymptomatic during the incubation period of the disease.
“It is possible that [the staff member] acquired the infection from her [relative], but as she is asymptomatic, it’s difficult to say when she carried the virus,” said Dr Chuang Shuk-kwan, head of the Centre for Health Protection’s communicable disease branch.
“There are also two linked cases [tied] to her. One is the other staff and the other is the resident, so we preliminarily consider there to be an epidemiological link between these cases.”