Recovered: First coronavirus patient discharged from HK hospital after beating disease

Hong Kong's first coronavirus victim to recover from the infectious disease, a 25-year-old man, was discharged from hospital yesterday.

And several more recovered patients may be allowed to leave today or in the coming few days, the Hospital Authority revealed yesterday.

But as the SAR welcomed this news yesterday also saw a new confirmed case, taking the total to 50. One sufferer, a 39-year-old diabetic man, died last week.

The authority said the man who went home yesterday afternoon is 25 years old.

He fell sick on January 28 and was on February 4 confirmed to have the virus - now officially named Covid-19. He had been in the isolation facility in Princess Margaret Hospital for nine days.

Sara Ho Yuen-ha, the Hospital Authority's chief manager for patient safety and risk management, said people who are clinically stable and whose symptoms have eased can be discharged after showing up twice as negative for the coronavirus in specimens collected 24 hours apart.

"The discharge requirement is in line with international recommendations," she added, though the young man will need to visit the hospital next week for a check.

The man had received medication to relieve symptoms of upper respiratory infection and the anti-viral drugs Kaletra and Ribavirin.

Asked if what seemed a rapid recovery was a result of the man's young age as 17 people diagnosed with the virus before him remained in hospital, Ho said the speed of recovery depends on a person's general condition.

But 42 patients, including those diagnosed before him, were in stable condition.

"Several more may be able to leave hospital soon," Ho added. "They are waiting for second negative test results."

Less cheering was word that four patients are critical, requiring tracheal tubes to maintain their breathing, and two are serious. The six are in intensive care units.

The positive turns came a week after Macau, which has 10 confirmed cases, last week allowed a first recovered patient to go home.

In the mainland, among 44,763 confirmed cases 1,115 people have died and 5,005 have recovered and been discharged from hospitals.

Chuang Shuk-kwan, head of communicable disease branch of the Centre for Health Protection, said the new confirmed case in Hong Kong yesterday is a 51-year-old man and a co-worker of another confirmed case - a 55-year-old woman who had a hotpot dinner with 19 relatives.

They both work in the kitchen of Maxim's Peking Garden restaurant in Mong Kok's Moko shopping mall.

The woman fell sick late last month and was off work for a few days. She returned to the eatery and worked in the kitchen while wearing a mask.

But she ate lunch and dinner with six co-workers, including the latest confirmed virus patient. They had been classified as close contacts and put in isolation camps. Another 18 other workers in the kitchen have been under medical observation.

Chuang also said around 100 people from 31 units of Hong Mei House in Tsing Yi's Cheung Hong Estate were moved out on Tuesday after four members of two households - three living in unit A307 and one in A1307 - were confirmed over 11 days to have the virus.

So far, experts believe a leaking toilet bowl vent pipe in A307 was the cause. Meanwhile, people who were moved out went to isolation camps as checks on pipes in all flats continued.

Chuang also said a household comprising an elderly woman and her son refused to leave the building.

"We understand the elderly resident may be attached to her home and refuses to leave," she said. "Our officers are still talking with them."

Still, officers from the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department were allowed to go into the flat to carry out disinfecting, Chuang said.

And engineers from the Housing Authority had checked the pipes and found them in good condition.

jane.cheung@singtaonewscorp.com

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