Mainland experts in HK to fight virus
Print Edition
SEVEN virus testing professionals from the Chinese mainland arrived in Hong Kong yesterday as the first batch of mainland supportive teams to help tackle a worsening spread of COVID-19.
The medical professionals, who will help with laboratory work, are members of a 60-strong nucleic acid testing team established recently at the request of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government for assistance in the battle against the epidemic.
Members of the team were selected from over 20 public hospitals in Guangdong Province. The head of the team used to lead the province’s supportive group in Wuhan, the capital of Hubei Province.
Guo Penghao, leader of the advance team, said they will start working with relevant departments and familiarizing themselves with testing facilities and procedures in preparation for the following large-scale nucleic acid testing.
The virus testing team and Hong Kong residents will win the battle against COVID-19, Guo said. “We are full of confidence.”
The National Health Commission promised continued efforts to mobilize medical resources from the mainland and send more support at any time based on the requirements of the HKSAR to combat COVID-19.
They came at a time of surging COVID-19 infections in Hong Kong, where medical resources were stretched to the limit and the virus testing capacity was not enough.
Hong Kong’s Center for Health Protection reported 115 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 yesterday, the 12th consecutive day of more than 100 cases.
All of the newly reported cases are local infections, bringing Hong Kong’s total number of confirmed COVID-19 cases to 3,511.
Among the 115 cases, 79 cases are related to previously confirmed cases, while the sources of other 36 cases remained unknown, said Chuang Shuk-kwan, head of the CHP’s Communicable Disease Branch.
As of 9am yesterday, 1,107 confirmed patients are hospitalized, including 34 in critical condition and 71 in serious condition. The number of deaths from COVID-19 rose to 34.
Hong Kong has introduced a raft of measures including restricting gatherings to two people and mandating face masks in all outdoor public spaces. Chief executive Carrie Lam on Friday announced the postponement of the 2020 Legislative Council General Election by one year due to the current outbreak.
A makeshift hospital at the AsiaWorld-Expo near the Hong Kong International Airport, began receiving COVID-19 patients with mild symptoms since Saturday afternoon, Hong Kong’s Hospital Authority said.
Sara Ho, a chief manager of HA, said yesterday that the hospital has received 31 patients so far.
Makeshift hospital
Henry Fan Hung-ling, chairman of HA, said earlier that 500 beds are available in the first phase, and another 1,500 will be available if needed.
The makeshift hospital mainly receives COVID-19 patients with mild symptoms or those still waiting to be admitted to hospital. A patient will go through a physical examination in the makeshift hospital, and those with low blood oxygen, breathlessness or abnormal X-ray results will be sent to hospital immediately.
Experts said the makeshift hospital can help release more hospital beds so that patients with more severe symptoms can get necessary and timely treatment.
At the entrance of the makeshift hospital, three flat-TV screens broadcast each and every bed and each patient’s conditions in a tabular form, and another four screens played the live coverage of the surveillance cameras.
Dozens of computers have been lined up for registration outside the entrance. Medics have to put on their isolation gown and other protective gear in specific cubicles before entering. Eight wheelchairs, three sliding hospital beds and 20 chairs facing a TV are available in the waiting area near the wards.
Inside each semi-isolated ward of about 3 meters long and 3 meters wide are a bed, a bedside table, a desk and a chair.
Wi-Fi connections and common areas with TVs and sofas are also installed.
An on-site medical staffer said that there are 31 toilets that circle around the wards. Besides, several clinical waste areas, hand washing basins and an X-ray room are ready for use.
To reduce the contact between medical staff and patients, apart from ultraviolet disinfection rooms and changing rooms, there are also self-service facilities for patients to disinfect themselves and measure their blood pressure and oxygen content.
Wong Shuk-ching, senior nursing officer of Queen Mary Hospital, said besides 100 newly purchased beds, the rest 400 beds were sent by hospitals across Hong Kong. Set meals will be served three times a day for the patients, she said.
Cheng Chi-chung, a doctor with Queen Mary Hospital, said a patient can be discharged after he or she shows negative results in two nucleic acid tests or shows positive in an antibody test.
The Hospital Authority also used the Lei Yue Mun Park and Holiday Village as a community isolation facility.
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