Hong Kong Buddhist Hospital announces a patient confirmed preliminarily positive to COVID-19
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The spokesperson for Hong Kong Buddhist Hospital (HKBH) made an announcement today (December 24) regarding an inpatient confirmed preliminarily positive to COVID-19:
A 95-year-old patient of a male rehabilitation ward attended Accident & Emergency Department at Queen Elizabeth Hospital (QEH) due to fever on December 8. Admission screening of COVID-19 test was arranged for the patient and the result was negative. On December 13, the concerned patient was transferred to HKBH for treatment. Later, he was arranged to take the viral test again due to deteriorating condition. Last night (December 23), the hospital learnt that his latest test result was positive and immediately transferred him to QEH for isolation treatment.
Infection Control Team of HKBH has conducted contact tracing, and nine other patients who had stayed in the same cubicle with the confirmed patient are classified as close contacts and they are required to be quarantined for 14 days. Three of the patients have been discharged and will be followed up by Centre for Health Protection (CHP). Another patient has been transferred to QEH earlier. For the remaining five patients, COVID-19 test was arranged for them and test results are pending. The hospital will closely monitor health condition of the patients concerned.
Staff members working in the ward concerned were equipped with appropriate personal protective equipment in accordance with infection control guidelines and no aerosol generating procedures had been performed during that period. Therefore, none of the staff members is being classified as close contacts for the time being, while contact tracing is still underway.
The hospital has arranged thorough cleansing and disinfection of the wards concerned. The hospital would continue to closely monitor the health of our staff and patients, as well as communicating with the CHP about the latest situation.
Ends/Thursday, December 24, 2020
Issued at HKT 20:39
Issued at HKT 20:39
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