Pedestrians wear face masks as they walk along a footbridge to Hung Hom MTR station in the Kowloon district in Hong Kong on Jan 23, 2020. (PHILIP FONG / AFP)

HONG KONG - Hong Kong may face the spread of the novel coronavirus in the community as health authorities believe to have identified the first case of local infection, a health official said on Saturday.

The patient might have been infected by an “invisible” patient – asymptomatic carrier of the virus, a health official said

Among the 13 confirmed cases in the city, one patient had not visited Hubei province on the Chinese mainland in the past 14 days before illness onset, nor has he been in contact with anyone who developed symptoms, said Chuang Shuk-kwan, head of the Communicable Disease Branch of the Centre for Health Protection of the Department of Health. 

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Chuang said the possibility that the patient had contracted the disease in Hong Kong could not be ruled out. He might have been infected by an “invisible” patient – asymptomatic carrier of the virus, Chuang added. 

The other 12 confirmed cases were all imported cases, said Chuang. 

The city faces an outbreak in the community if more similar cases are reported, Chuang said. 

The man – the 12th patient in Hong Kong— lives in Tsing Yi. He had not traveled out of Hong Kong the week before his developed symptoms, and none of his close contacts had been to Hubei province during that time.

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The Centre for Health Protection is tracking the source of the patient’s infection, and working to isolate all suspected cases to prevent community breakouts. 

Chuang reminded people to wash their hands often because the spread of the virus is not limited to exposure to droplets from coughing. For that reason, wearing masks alone does not provide complete protection against infection. 

Speaking to the media on Saturday morning, Secretary for Food and Health Sophia Chan Siu-chee said suspected patients who lie to health officers about their travel histories will be liable to a fine of up to HK$5,000 and six months' imprisonment. The government is considering the extension of the regulation to include withholding information from doctors in public hospitals, Chan said. 

As of Saturday noon, a total of 112 patients were hospitalized in isolation, according to the Hospital Authority. Public hospitals admitted 69 patients in the past 24 hours who met the reporting criteria of severe respiratory disease associated with a novel infectious agent.

Since the epidemic outbreak, Hong Kong has adopted numerous measures to contain the spread of the virus. Those measures include closing some of the checkpoints at the border with the Chinese mainland and reducing the frequency of passenger flights between the city and the mainland.