Report by : Gan Yung Chyan
/ KUCINTA SETIA
Image courtesy: Zhong Linzhi, Ming Pao.
On 8 May 2020, the Hong Kong Government relaxed the number of people allowed to gather and the number of people per table in restaurants from 4 to 8. Fitness centres, beauty salons, bars, etc. can also be reopened. Hong Kong’s relaxation of cluster restrictions lasts only 5 days, and a new covid case has emerged.
Hong Kong's “zero" record for 23 consecutive days was broken at 4 pm of 12 May 2020 after a 66-year-old woman from Block 5, Lei Muk Shue Village, Tsuen Wan was initially diagnosed with SARS-CoV-2. She had a deep throat saliva sample done at the General Clinic of Mrs. Wu Ruoyu, Kwai Chung due to fever but had no record of external travel during the virus incubation period. Her family members were sent to quarantine on 12 May 2020.
To the knowledge of Chen Wanchen, Chairman of the Tsuen Wan District Council, the newly diagnosed patient lives in Block 5 of Lei Muk Shue Village and lives with her husband, son, daughter-in-law and grandson. The building is older and it is not clear how her infection will be transmitted. Chen said that people from time to time gamble in the village.Some people do not wear masks. Residents who are worried about health risks communicate with the Housing Department and the police and demand to strengthen the fight against gambling.
Xu Shuchang, an expert advisor to the government's anti-epidemic steering committee and a the Chair Professor at the Respiratory System Department of CUHK, said that the patient's virus CT value is 18, which means that her body has a high amount of virus and the risk of human-to-human virus transmission is very high. The source of her infection is under investigations.
Xu believes that in the future, it is necessary to observe whether sporadic cases such as the new covid case on 12 May 2020 will cause intermittent outbreaks, or whether Hong Kong will continue to have local cases of unknown origin. If the above-mentioned situation occurs, a series of epidemic prevention measures need to be tightened or resumed, such as closing high-risk premises again and consider postponing the resumption of classes.
Chen Zhaoshi, Director of the Food and Drug Administration, published a blog on Sunday, saying that the anti-epidemic measures have been relaxed but he recommends strict control measures to be taken when the epidemic situation is severe and the epidemic situation should be relaxed if it stabilizes.
Liang Zichao, Chairman of the Infectious Diseases Advisory Committee of the Medical Association, said that this case reflects the hidden transmission within the community. The most likely reason is that the home quarantine case has not been detected because of a long incubation period, and the virus is passed to the family and then out of the community. The border measures have not been made watertight, and the Hong Kong government is urged to tighten the quarantine arrangements, including returning the returnees to the quarantine centre and hotels for centralized quarantine. Otherwise sporadic cases will continue to flow into the community.
Liang also said that even if patients have participated in Mother’s Day family gatherings that can cause transmission, it is still limited to family rooms. With Hong Kong’s tracking ability, the contacts will be included in the quarantine centre as soon as possible. It is unlikely that the risk of outbreak will be high but if the patient has attended a large gathering such as religious activity or linger bars, etc., there may be outbreaks. Liang believes that it is time for the public to be more alert and strengthen personal hygiene.
/ KUCINTA SETIA
Image courtesy: Zhong Linzhi, Ming Pao.
On 8 May 2020, the Hong Kong Government relaxed the number of people allowed to gather and the number of people per table in restaurants from 4 to 8. Fitness centres, beauty salons, bars, etc. can also be reopened. Hong Kong’s relaxation of cluster restrictions lasts only 5 days, and a new covid case has emerged.
Hong Kong's “zero" record for 23 consecutive days was broken at 4 pm of 12 May 2020 after a 66-year-old woman from Block 5, Lei Muk Shue Village, Tsuen Wan was initially diagnosed with SARS-CoV-2. She had a deep throat saliva sample done at the General Clinic of Mrs. Wu Ruoyu, Kwai Chung due to fever but had no record of external travel during the virus incubation period. Her family members were sent to quarantine on 12 May 2020.
To the knowledge of Chen Wanchen, Chairman of the Tsuen Wan District Council, the newly diagnosed patient lives in Block 5 of Lei Muk Shue Village and lives with her husband, son, daughter-in-law and grandson. The building is older and it is not clear how her infection will be transmitted. Chen said that people from time to time gamble in the village.Some people do not wear masks. Residents who are worried about health risks communicate with the Housing Department and the police and demand to strengthen the fight against gambling.
Xu believes that in the future, it is necessary to observe whether sporadic cases such as the new covid case on 12 May 2020 will cause intermittent outbreaks, or whether Hong Kong will continue to have local cases of unknown origin. If the above-mentioned situation occurs, a series of epidemic prevention measures need to be tightened or resumed, such as closing high-risk premises again and consider postponing the resumption of classes.
Chen Zhaoshi, Director of the Food and Drug Administration, published a blog on Sunday, saying that the anti-epidemic measures have been relaxed but he recommends strict control measures to be taken when the epidemic situation is severe and the epidemic situation should be relaxed if it stabilizes.
Liang Zichao, Chairman of the Infectious Diseases Advisory Committee of the Medical Association, said that this case reflects the hidden transmission within the community. The most likely reason is that the home quarantine case has not been detected because of a long incubation period, and the virus is passed to the family and then out of the community. The border measures have not been made watertight, and the Hong Kong government is urged to tighten the quarantine arrangements, including returning the returnees to the quarantine centre and hotels for centralized quarantine. Otherwise sporadic cases will continue to flow into the community.
Liang also said that even if patients have participated in Mother’s Day family gatherings that can cause transmission, it is still limited to family rooms. With Hong Kong’s tracking ability, the contacts will be included in the quarantine centre as soon as possible. It is unlikely that the risk of outbreak will be high but if the patient has attended a large gathering such as religious activity or linger bars, etc., there may be outbreaks. Liang believes that it is time for the public to be more alert and strengthen personal hygiene.
No comments:
Post a Comment