Confirmed nCoV Cases in Hong Kong High Rise Increase To Five

[niman]

Three relatives of 62F (case #42) in 35 story high rise (Hong Mei House, Cheung Hong Estate), nCoV confirmed - 37F, 37M, 75M (in addition to case #12 who shares drainage system,which led to evacuations and inspections).

https://www.info.gov.hk/gia/general/202002/11/P2020021100773.htm

Edited February 11, 2020 by niman

[niman]

  The other three additional cases are related to the confirmed case (the 42th case, 62-year-old female patient) in Hong Mei House, Cheung Hong Estate announced yesterday. The patients involved the 37-year-old son and 37-year-old daughter-in-law of the 62-year-old female patient, as well as the father of her daughter-in-law who is aged 75.

[niman]

The CHP early hours of Tuesday evacuating some households from a block of flats in Tsing Yi after two people were diagnosed with the new coronavirus  in Hong Mei House in the Cheung Hong Estate. The 12th case of the virus in Hong Kong involved a resident of the building and a new case identified on Monday involves a woman who lives in a flat of the same number 10 stories away.

https://news.rthk.hk/rthk/en/component/k2/1507800-20200211.htm?spTabChangeable=0

[niman]

The Centre for Health Protection said in the early hours of Tuesday that it was evacuating some households from a block of flats in Tsing Yi after two people were diagnosed with the new coronavirus there – suggesting a community outbreak of the disease.

The two cases have been recorded in Hong Mei House in the Cheung Hong Estate. The 12th case of the virus in Hong Kong involved a resident of the building and a new case identified on Monday involves a woman who lives in a flat of the same number 10 storeys away.

The controller of the centre, Wong Ka-hing, said the evacuation was a "precautionary measure for the safety of the residents" and it wasn't yet clear how the virus had spread.

"It could still be the usual droplet transmission or contact transmission, but there is the environmental factor, which is somehow unique in these two cases as they live in the same building," Wong said.

"So we cannot exclude this possibility, so for safety's sake, of the residents, we want to evacuate them first."

The latest case is the 42nd identified in the SAR, one of six new cases diagnosed yesterday. The woman's family is also said to be showing virus symptoms.

Only people living in flats of the same number, number seven, will be evacuated. The 35-storey building has flats from the second floor.

Engineers from the Housing Department will investigate the sewage system from Tuesday while people living in the affected flats are moved to quarantine centres.
______________________________
Last updated: 2020-11-02 HKT 01:43

[niman]

  The other three additional cases are related to the confirmed case (the 42th case, 62-year-old female patient) in Hong Mei House, Cheung Hong Estate announced yesterday. The patients involved the 37-year-old son and 37-year-old daughter-in-law of the 62-year-old female patient, as well as the father of her daughter-in-law who is aged 75.
 
     The 37-year-old male patient developed fever and cough since January 30 and consulted a private doctor on the same day. He consulted another private doctor on February 3 and 5. The 37-year-old female patient developed fever, cough and sore throat since February 2 and consulted a private doctor on the next day. The couple have good past health and reside with the 62-year-old female patient. They were sent to Princess Margaret Hospital (PMH) yesterday for isolation and management. Their respiratory samples were tested positive for novel coronavirus. They are in stable condition. They had no travel history during the incubation period. 
 
     The 75-year-old patient lives in Tin Chak House, Tin Wan Estate, Aberdeen. He developed fever and cough since February 3 and consulted private doctors on February 3, 7 and 10 respectively. He sought medical attention at Queen Mary Hospital yesterday. His respiratory sample was tested positive for novel coronavirus and is in a stable condition. The patient had no travel history during the incubation period. His wife, his son and two daughters who lived with him are asymptomatic and quarantine will be arranged.

[niman]

Coronavirus: three more Hong Kong housing blocks face inspection after Tsing Yi evacuation but officials call for calm and insist this is ‘no Amoy Gardens’

• Leading infectious disease expert says Hong Kong already in containment phase and in a much better situation than during Sars
• City leader also calls for calm but reiterates that those who flout mandatory quarantine measures will face criminal liability

 

Tony Cheung andChris Lau

Published: 12:31pm, 11 Feb, 2020

 

 

 

 

Health workers disinfect a public walkway near Hong Mei House in Cheung Hong Estate in Tsing Yi. Photo: Sam Tsang

 

Hong Kong authorities will conduct inspections at three other public housing blocks after four residents from a high-rise building in Tsing Yi and a close contact were confirmed to be infected with the deadly coronavirus, prompting a partial evacuation.

But officials urged the public not to panic, and experts said the city was not facing a large-scale community outbreak as feared, even as the number of confirmed cases rose to 49 on Tuesday.

A leading infectious disease expert said Hong Kong was now in a containment phase, even if more cases were being reported, and the city was in a much better situation than during the severe acute respiratory syndrome (Sars) epidemic of 2002-03.

Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor, under fire for her government’s handling of the crisis and facing difficulties enforcing quarantine orders on people exposed to the coronavirus, warned that absconders would be subject to criminal liability.

But the city’s embattled leader also appealed for unity, saying: “In order to fight this virus, Hong Kong needs the full cooperation and active participation of every member of society. This is a time for social cohesion. This is a time for every one of us to display civic responsibility.”

 

 

Lam said 2,196 people, 91 per cent of whom were local residents, had been quarantined since last Saturday when the government began requiring anyone coming in from mainland China to undergo two weeks of confinement.

 

The latest scare began on Monday night with health officials ordering around 200 residents from 34 households out of their flats in Hong Mei House at Cheung Hong Estate.

Residents are evacuated from Hong Mei House in Tsing Yi. Photo: Edmond So

That was after a 62-year-old woman living in flat 307, on the third floor of the 35-storey building, was confirmed to have the coronavirus that originated in the mainland Chinese city of Wuhan. She was said to be in a serious condition at Princess Margaret Hospital.

HONG KONG NEWS NEWSLETTER

Get updates direct to your inbox

SUBSCRIBE

By registering, you agree to our T&C and Privacy Policy

The woman’s son, together with his wife and her father, joined the list of confirmed cases on Tuesday. The father-in-law was the only one who did not share the same flat, but was in close contact with them.

SCMP Hong Kong

 

✔@SCMPHongKong

 

 

At Hong Mei House in Tsing Yi this morning, cleaners in protective gear were spraying disinfectant around the neighborhood. It smells of bleach in the lobby. #2019nCoV

Video: SCMP/Chris Lau

 

 

6

12:03 AM - Feb 11, 2020

Twitter Ads info and privacy

 

See SCMP Hong Kong's other Tweets

 

 

 

A 75-year-old man who lived 10 floors directly above flat 307 had previously been infected, prompting health authorities to suspect that the coronavirus could have spread through water or sewage pipes in the building.

 

They ordered all residents living in flats ending with “07” digits to be evacuated from the block and placed under quarantine. Five of the residents had shown symptoms of infection but tested negative for the virus in hospital.

SCMP Hong Kong

 

✔@SCMPHongKong

 

 

A woman, covering herself in a raincoat, leaves the building in Tsing Yi with her luggage saying she intends to stay at her daughter's for a few days. #2019nCoV #coronavirus

Video: SCMP/Chris Lau

 

 

17

12:08 AM - Feb 11, 2020

Twitter Ads info and privacy

 

See SCMP Hong Kong's other Tweets

 

 

 

Secretary for Transport and Housing Frank Chan Fan revealed that the woman’s toilet had been altered, and insisted the situation was different from that in Amoy Gardens, ground zero for a community outbreak of Sars in 2003.

 

Back then, more than 100 cases were reported in block E of the private housing estate in Ngau Tau Kok, and experts concluded the killer virus had spread through sewage pipes outside the building, as well as through U-shaped water traps connected to bathroom floor drains that were too dry.

 

 

In the case of Cheung Hong Estate, Chan said, a ventilation pipe in the woman’s toilet had been altered, and government officers would conduct an in-depth investigation. He did not explain how the pipe had been altered, and how it would relate to the infection.

A photo released by the government shows a toilet pipe on the third floor had been altered, which officials suspected may have been linked to the infection. Photo: Handout

“Cheung Hong Estate is different from Amoy Gardens,” Chan said. “The sewage drains in Cheung Hong Estate were installed within the building, while the ones in Amoy Gardens were outside.”

Microbiologist Yuen Kwok-yung of the University of Hong Kong urged people not to panic. “We are not in an Amoy Gardens situation,” he said.

Click or tap for larger version.

The infectious disease expert said other flats in the building were being checked for similar modifications or unsealed piping.

If the problem was found to be unique to just one flat, Yuen said, quarantined residents might be allowed to return home in a few days after they were tested again for the coronavirus.

On a positive note, Yuen suggested the city had now entered the containment phrase, and while the number of infections was expected to rise, Hong Kong was in a much better situation than during the Sars epidemic.

Secretary for Food and Health Sophia Chan, Chief Executive Carrie Lam and Secretary for Transport and Housing Frank Chan give an update on the incident in Tsing Yi. Photo: Jonathan Wong

Assistant director Steve Luk Hing-chuen of the Housing Department said checks would be extended to three other public housing estates, with confirmed infections, that also had pipe structures similar to Cheung Hong’s.

Previous confirmed cases include tenants living in Luk Kwai House in Kwai Chung Estate, Tai Wo House in Wo Che Estate and Sui Shek House in Shek Mun Estate.

Referring to the modifications in the infected woman’s flat, Luk suggested they had been improperly done when the tenant installed a new toilet seat, violating Buildings Ordinance rules.

Cleaners in full-body protective suits and masks stepped up disinfection work in and around the infected housing block on Tuesday.

The estate, built in 1979, is home to nearly 21,000 people.

A 70-year-old woman living in the same block as the infected patients said she had nowhere else to go.

She said she had been cleaning her home with bleach she managed to buy before Lunar New Year. “Now everything has run out in this neighbourhood, from bleach to masks,” she said.

https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/3049968/coronavirus-four-more-residents-tsing-yi-estate?utm_medium=email&utm_source=mailchimp&utm_campaign=enlz-scmp_today&utm_content=20200212&MCUID=f75f6eb6b6&MCCampaignID=80b0ee71ba&MCAccountID=3775521f5f542047246d9c827&tc=4

Edited February 11, 2020 by niman