Flu season's here as temperature set to dip

Hong Kong is firmly into the winter flu season health authorities said yesterday even as they faced new challenges from the Wuhan-linked pneumonia cases as the weather is set to take a dip from Sunday.

The Centre for Health Protection noted that 95 people fell sick with seasonal flu in 23 outbreaks in the first four days of this week compared with four outbreaks affecting 15 people in the previous two weeks.

The outbreaks are mainly in primary schools, kindergartens and homes for the elderly.

With the latest increase came a plea for people to get flu shots.

A vaccination can provide protection against four flu viruses, the center stressed, though there was an admission the effectiveness against one strain could be less than the other three. The flu outbreak will stretch the already-strained manpower in public hospital, said Arisina Ma Chung-yee, chairwoman of the Hong Kong Public Doctors' Association.

Staff in accident and emergency departments are already under stress partly due to the new form of pneumonia taking hold after starting in Wuhan, she said.

While medical staff are not in general affected by the pneumonia situation as the number of linked cases was under 40, she said, A&E units face more procedures like rushing people into isolation and wearing protective clothing when tackling suspected cases.

And medics at A&E units have to spend more time on such matters as travel history.

Almost every public hospital is overcrowded, according to the Hospital Authority's latest figures, with an overall occupancy rate hitting 112 percent but some at 130 percent.

Ma also said manpower strains in public hospitals is worse compared to the peak flu season last year after a number of medical staff resigned at the end of 2019.

"Public hospitals only recruit medical graduates in July, so if someone resigns we expect to see the vacancies for the next six to nine months," she said.

Most medics left jobs due to personal issue, Ma added, while some quit because of the unstable social conditions.

The Hospital Authority added 1,353 beds in public hospitals last week to handle an influx of flu patients.

But Ma said it was difficult for the authority to predict how hospitals could be affected by the pneumonia outbreak as mainland authorities had not released enough information.

The government can, however, do more in offering precautionary guidelines in the face of the pneumonia outbreak, she said.

That included underlining a need to wear masks, wash hands and avoid crowded places where viruses can spread easily.