Doc falls ill after treating Wuhan pair in full protective gear

An accident and emergency doctor at Queen Mary Hospital is being tested for the Wuhan virus after falling ill despite wearing full protective gear while checking an elderly couple from the Hubei capital, later confirmed to have the virus.

He is among 14 medical staff, including two other doctors from Prince of Wales Hospital in Sha Tin, who had fever and respiratory infection symptoms after taking care of confirmed patients or returning from the mainland.

Test results for the Queen Mary doctor are pending while the rest of the 13 were cleared of the Wuhan virus, said the head of the communicable disease branch of the Centre for Health Protection, Chuang Shuk-kwan.

Sources said the doctor already had symptoms before checking the two patients.

He had a fever and cough yesterday and was sent to Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Jordan for isolation.

He was said to have worn protective gear covering his whole body, N95 mask and a face shield when treating the Wuhan couple.

The Wuhan husband and wife, 72 and 73, were confirmed to have caught the virus on Wednesday night after they were sent to the hospital the night before. Upon arrival in Hong Kong by Cathay Dragon flight KA853 on January 22, the couple stayed at W Hong Kong hotel on top of Kowloon MTR Station until Tuesday.

"They wanted to switch to a nearby Ritz Carlton Hotel but could not get a room and finally went to the Four Seasons Hotel (in Central) but were sent to the hospital hours after checking in," Chuang said.

She said her team was still trying to gather information about the couple's movements in the city but "had not obtained much detail so far as the patients were not very cooperative."

Four workers at W hotel and one from the Four Seasons were sent to isolation camps as they had been in close contact with the couple, such as chatting with them or helping them clean their room.

She said her team has also reached out to a driver who had driven the couple but refused to give more details.

Sources said staffers at W found out the couple had a fever and reported to the Department of Health.

Asked why the government did not send officers to the hotel to escort the couple for isolation, Chuang said the department provided health advice to the hotel but it "cannot force anyone to see a doctor." Only those reported by doctors will be considered suspected cases that need to be put under quarantine. The hotel said it has cordoned off the room the couple had stayed in and disinfected the floor. Swimming pool and sauna facilities have been closed and cleaners will sanitize public areas and kitchens more frequently.

Starting from last Monday, the hotel has asked customers to fill in declaration forms to check whether they had been to Wuhan in the past two weeks. It has also checked the body temperatures of all customers.

Hong Kong has seen 11 confirmed cases, all of whom are being treated in Princess Margaret Hospital's infectious disease center.

A 56-year-old man is in serious condition, connected to oxygen in the intensive care unit.

Sources last night said the SAR saw two more "preliminary positive" cases, including the daughter of the Wuhan couple, who came to Hong Kong to visit her.

Responding to rumors about two other "preliminary positive" cases at Alice Ho Miu Ling Nethersole Hospital in Tai Po, Chuang said they tested negative in two separate tests. The two patients remain in isolation for further monitoring.

Nationwide, the number of confirmed cases rose to 7,828, with an additional 38 deaths, bringing the death toll to 170.

A total of 95 suspected cases were recorded in Hong Kong yesterday. So far, 139 suspected cases have been kept in isolation.

Meanwhile, Hospital Authority chairman Henry Fan Hung-ling yesterday called for the government to further clamp down on the flow of people at Hong Kong-mainland borders to reduce chances of citizens catching the virus.

"Although the government has earlier launched multiple policies to cut the exchange of people, they seem unable to ease worries in the community," he wrote in a blog.

"Therefore, the government should considering deploying more effective measures to calm citizens down."

His call came before the Employees Alliance meets tomorrow to discuss strike arrangements starting on Monday in a bid to pressure the government to suspend all Hong Kong-mainland border points.

More than 4,600 members - 70 percent nurses, 10 percent allied health workers and less than 10 percent doctors - have signed a declaration to join the strike, the alliance said.