Missing in-patient returns to Kowloon Hospital
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Regarding an earlier announcement on an incident involving an inpatient who absconded from Kowloon Hospital (KH), the spokesperson for KH made the following update today (January 8):
The 56-year-old male patient who absconded from a ward of the Department of Respiratory Medicine last Wednesday (January 2) has returned to KH today. The patient had been admitted to hospital for the treatment of open tuberculosis with an isolation order issued by the Department of Health. Security measures have already been stepped up to prevent recurrence of a similar incident.
KH was very concerned about the incident and informed the patient’s relatives immediately. The incident was reported to the Tuberculosis and Chest Service, Centre for Health Protection, Department of Health and the Police.
The patient has been hospitalised for treatment of tuberculosis for one month. Given that tuberculosis transmission often requires a long period of closed contact, the risk resulting from the patient's short period of absence from hospital is relatively low.
Ends/Tuesday, January 8, 2019
Issued at HKT 16:37
Issued at HKT 16:37
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