By The SUN
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| Dr Yuen says the superspreader infected 10 fellow patients and 4 medical staff |
Hong Kong health officials have revealed that an
84-year-old female patient at United Christian Hospital was a superspreader who
could have infected 14 other people, including four medical staff.
The information was first disclosed today, Dec 26, by
Dr Yuen Kwok-yung, a microbiologist and physician from the University of Hong
Kong, after he inspected the hospital.
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It was confirmed at a subsequent press briefing on the
latest Covid-19 situation by Dr Lau Ka-hin, chief manager of the Hospital Authority,
during which it was revealed 59 new infections were recorded as of midnight
last night.
According to Yuen, seven more female patients at UCH
have tested preliminary positive, along with four medical staff. Three who were
previously classified as preliminary cases had just been confirmed.
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Apart from these cases, Yuen said that there were
signs of an outbreak in the community where the apparent superspreader lives.
Tests at the hospital showed that the patient’s CT value
was very low, only 17 to 18, indicating a high viral load, which also meant she
was very contagious.
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But since she mostly stayed in the hospital’s palliative
care ward, where most patients have poor immunity because of their age or
critical medical condition, the virus spread easily.
Yuen said the index patient was admitted
to the hospital on Dec 15, and was put in intensive care because of diabetic
ketoacidosis (DKA), which occurs when the body starts breaking down fat.
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After she tested negative for Covid-19,
she was moved to the palliative ward because of bed shortage. However, a further
test showed she was infected.
Yuen described it as a “most unfortunate”
super spreading event, which could have been partially transmitted through the
air in the palliative ward.
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Among those believed to have caught the
virus from the elderly woman was a nurse who did not wear protective goggles
when she helped the patient clean her mouth.
But according to the expert, the outbreak was
also partly caused by the serious epidemic situation in East Kowloon,
especially in Kwun Tong District, which caused great pressure on community
hospitals. The transfer of the patient from one ward to another because of a
shortage of beds had caused the virus to spread further.
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| Dr Au says the coronavirus variant was found in a third new arrival from Britain |
Meanwhile, Dr Albert Au from the Centre
for Health Protection revealed that the highly contagious coronavirus strain
was found in a third infected patient who recently arrived from Britain.
The 18-year-old female patient arrived on
Dec 13 via Virgin Airlines flight VS206, and developed symptoms a week later
while in quarantine at Kowloon Metropark Hotel. She tested positive for the
coronavirus on Dec 23 and is now in stable condition.
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Two other teenagers, both males, were
earlier found to carry the coronavirus variant. One had already been discharged
from the community treatment facility at AsiaWorld-Expo when he was found to
have the strain that prompted Hong Kong to ban all flights from Britain last
week.
Dr Au said that of the of today’s 59 new
cases, 53 were locally acquired, and six were imported, including three new
arrivals from Britain, aged 22, 41, and 48.
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Records from CHP later showed that the new
imported cases also included a 36-year-old woman who arrived from the Philippines,
and tested positive while in quarantine at Metropark Hotel in Mongkok.
Another was a 7-year-old girl who flew in
from Indonesia, and a 33-year-old man who arrived from United Arab Emirates.
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Of the 53 local cases, 26 did not have no
known sources. More than 50 preliminary cases were also recorded.
Hong Kong now has a total of 8,541 coronavirus cases. As of 9am today, 921 patients are being treated in 23 public hospitals and the treatment facility at AWE. Among them, 55 are in critical condition, 65 are in serious condition, and 801 are in stable condition.
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