Hong Kong health authorities on Tuesday told residents to stay at home as much as possible as infections of the novel coronavirus continue to rise, with at least seven new confirmed cases linked to social gatherings.
The appeal came after the city recorded 30 new cases on Tuesday, taking the tally to 386. Nineteen of the patients had returned from overseas or Macao.
Any kind of social gathering poses a high risk of cross-infection even it does not involve eating or drinking
Chuang Shuk-kwan, head of the Communicable Disease Branch at the Centre for Health Protection
Eleven of the 30 — 18 males and 12 females aged 15 to 66 — had no record of travel during the incubation period. It’s the fourth day in a row that Hong Kong has seen the number of daily infections in double digits.
The latest patients include five members of a band that had been performing at bars in the Lan Kwai Fong entertainment district recently; one from a wedding banquet at a Discovery Bay hotel on Lantau Island; and another who went to an outdoor party at Wong Chuk Hang on southern Hong Kong Island that had more than 100 people.
So far, 10 cases have been traced to the banquet, seven linked to the band in Lan Kwai Fong, and five others to the Wong Chuk Hang party.
Hospital Authority Chief Manager (Patient Safety and Risk Management) Sara Ho Yuen-ha told the Department of Health’s daily press briefing on Tuesday that the strongest support the public can give to medical workers is to avoid going out.
She warned that no matter how many isolation beds the city has, it won’t be enough if the situation gets out of control.
Chuang Shuk-kwan, head of the Communicable Disease Branch at the Centre for Health Protection, also said it’s the responsibility of the general public to practice social distancing and avoid gatherings.
She said any kind of social gathering poses a high risk of cross-infection even it does not involve eating or drinking.
Although the government can keep social gatherings down by banning alcoholic drinks at restaurants and bars, other private gatherings are beyond its control, Chuang said.
One more patient was discharged from a hospital on Tuesday, raising the number of patients who have recovered to 102. The occupation rate of the city’s total 971 isolation beds is 51 percent.
Referring to a female doctor with the Department of Health who was confirmed on Monday to have been infected, Chuang said the doctor was responsible for issuing quarantine orders and explaining relevant information to travelers arriving at Hong Kong International Airport.
She said the job was relatively low-risk, and the doctor was wearing adequate protective gear, including a face mask, a face shield and gloves. The authorities will review the protective measures for medical employees at the airport to see which areas need to be improved.
A colleague of the infected doctor at the airport who had suspicious symptoms tested negative for COVID-19.
