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https://scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/3064923/coronavirus-monk-contagion-hit-hong-kong-temple Health & Environment
Coronavirus: monk from contagion-hit Hong Kong temple and domestic helper of infected family among 4 new infections, raising city’s tally to 104
- Fook Wai Ching She Buddhist worship hall has now been linked to 18 confirmed infections
- Hospital Authority reveals a slowdown in rate of transmissions within Hong Kong
The exterior of the North Point building which contains the Fook Wai Ching She temple. Photo: Sun Yeung
A Buddhist monk from a Hong Kong temple linked to numerous coronavirus cases and the domestic helper of an infected family who worshipped there were among four newly confirmed Covid-19 patients on Wednesday, bringing the city’s tally to 104.
The two temple-linked cases did not display symptoms in quarantine, and their infections were verified only after repeated tests. The temple in North Point has so far been connected to 18 confirmed cases.
The new infections came to light as the Hospital Authority also revealed a drop in the rate of transmission of the virus in the city.
While previous studies showed each infected person transmitting the virus to 2.3 to 2.68 persons, the authority saw that figure dropped to about one person from mid-February. The slowdown was believed to be linked to multiple factors, including higher awareness of hygiene and social-distancing measures.
Among Wednesday’s cases, the 43-year-old monk who lived at Fook Wai Ching She temple was known to have travelled to Xiamen and Sichuan provinces in mainland China in January, a medical source said, though health authorities said it was too early to say if he was the first infected person at the worship hall.
The 57-year-old domestic helper confirmed with the virus works for a family living at Redhill Peninsula housing estate in Tai Tam. Two household members there, a 57-year-old woman who visited the temple numerous times and her 26-year-old son, were previously found to be infected.
A 62-year-old woman was also confirmed to have contracted the virus. She is the wife of a Jockey Club member already confirmed as infected. The member’s younger sister also contracted the virus.
The fourth case involved a 69-year-old woman who visited India from January 31 to February 24. She developed diarrhoea on February 23 while she was still in India, and had fever on February 28 after returning to the city. She was sent to Ruttonjee Hospital in Wan Chai following tests at Violet Peel General Outpatient Clinic on Tuesday.
Apart from the woman who went to India, the other three patients were put on quarantine between February 23 and 25, and were diagnosed after deep-throat saliva tests. They were then sent to Pamela Youde Nethersole Eastern Hospital in Chai Wan and Queen Mary Hospital in Pok Fu Lam.
As of Wednesday evening, the official number of infections in Hong Kong was 104, with one more probable case. Six Covid-19 patients have been discharged from hospital, bringing the total number of recovered to 43.
Hong Kong’s health authorities, meanwhile, are still clarifying with mainland officials if there had been an outbreak in areas the monk visited during his January trip, including Mount Emei in Sichuan.
“We are not sure when he developed the disease, because he is asymptomatic,” Chuang Shuk-kwan of the Centre for Health Protection said at a press conference.
“There are several possibilities,” she said. “One is that he contracted the virus from visitors and now the incubation period has passed, another is that he contracted [the virus] at an earlier stage but never developed symptoms.”
Since Monday, about 50 private clinics have begun a collaboration with the Department of Health to help catch asymptomatic carriers at an earlier stage.
A new projection from the authority based on the amount of daily confirmed cases from late January to late February predicts the city will have about 140 locally infected cases by the end of the month.
At a separate press briefing, the authority said it was planning to enhance ventilation systems in some general wards for recovered patients not yet deemed suitable for discharge.
Dr Libby Lee Ha-yun, the authority’s director of strategy and planning, said the move was intended to reserve isolation facilities for those most in need.
“If there is a further outbreak of the disease, we would have enough negative pressure beds for confirmed or suspected cases,” Lee said.
About one to two general wards in each of the city’s seven hospitals would be installed with cubicle exhaust units and converted to have negative air pressure so air inside those wards does not escape into neighbouring areas.
The conversion project, which was expected to be completed next month, could provide 400 to 500 such beds. They would be used for patients who were recovering but not yet confirmed negative for the virus.
In the long run, the authority also plans to review whether there should be design changes at the Infectious Disease Centre in Princess Margaret Hospital, or if additional centres are necessary.