By The SUN
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| If the number of cases continues to rise, an 'explosive outbreak' could happen, says the CHP |
In a press briefing, principal medical and health officer Albert Au from Centre for Health Protection said that 92 of the new cases were locally acquired, 29 of them untraceable. The 63 other were linked to previous infections.
Au said the continuing rise in the number of cases, particularly those with unknown sources, was worrying.
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| Pindutin para sa detalye |
“What we are seeing in the past few days is that the number
of cases remains at a very high level, and the proportion of untraceable cases
is also increasing, so this is worrying because this signifies that there is a
lot of silent transmissions in various places in
If the trend continues, he said “at some point we may encounter explosive outbreaks…in the near future.”
He reminded everyone to observe “high vigilance” and continue practicing social distancing and maintain good personal hygiene to help prevent such an outbreak.
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Nine of today’s cases were imported, including an Indonesian
domestic worker who tested positive on arrival at the airport. The others included
an air crew from the
Au said about 50 preliminary positive cases have been recorded, and could increase as more test results come in during the rest of the day.
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| Au says the preliminary cases could increase by the midnight reporting cut-off |
The preliminary cases include an elderly couple who were
taken by ambulance to Pok Oi Hospital yesterday and are now in intensive care
at the
Dr Lau Ka-hin, chief manager of the Hospital Authority, said the 77-year-old male patient had complained of feeling dizzy, and was put in an observation ward where he was given oxygen.
Subsequently, his 74-year-old wife also felt unwell, and was also admitted to the hospital. Initial tests done on the couple showed both were infected with the virus.
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| PINDUTIN PARA SA DETALYE |
A 73-year-old male patient who was undergoing medical treatment in an adjacent cubicle was declared as a close contact, and put in an isolation room. But an initial test showed he was not infected.
Most of the local cases were linked to previously identified cluster of cases, including 18 new ones from the dance cluster, making a total of about 500; six from the Tung Wah Group of Hospital Ho Yuk Ching Willow Lodge, which now has 14 positive cases, and a new case linked to the Hong Kong Sanatorium and Hospital.
The other linked cases include three more from a
construction site in
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They also included a nurse at a private doctor’s clinic in Whampoa whose family members had previously tested positive for the coronavirus. The doctor, Fok Lai-Sing and his two other nurses have been classified as close contacts and will be sent to quarantine.
The 29 untraceable cases included a student from
Dr Lau reported an incident at
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| Tunghayan ang isa na namang kwentong Dream Love |
A nurse who was inside the room was wearing proper protective equipment, but was given a Covid-19 test to be on the safe side, and put under medical surveillance.
“We find that person’s disregard of social morals regrettable,” said Dr Lau, adding that there was no other hospital or patients around during the incident, so the HA would not take further action against the offender.
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| Taxi drivers who will work from Christmas until Jan 23 are compelled to take the test |
Meanwhile, the government has ordered all taxi drivers who plan to work between Christmas and January 23, to take compulsory coronavirus tests.
The Transport Department said the two-week free testing scheme for these
drivers will start on Wednesday, Dec. 9 at 13 dedicated centres.
Drivers, who take the test will receive an SMS message as proof, as well as a
"Compulsory Testing Tag" for them to display.
Those who don’t comply with the order could face a fixed penalty of $5,000 under new restrictions announced yesterday.
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