KFC chef and Jockey Club member infected

A chef at a KFC branch in North Point and a member of the Hong Kong Jockey Club were among three people confirmed with the coronavirus yesterday.

The KFC branch meters away from a Buddhist temple in North Point has been closed after a female worshipper and chef at the fast-food chain came down with the coronavirus.

Another confirmed case yesterday was a 60-year-old woman, who is a member of the Hong Kong Jockey Club. She had been to the club's gym, food court and Levade gift shop on Shan Kwong Road in Happy Valley.

The club has disinfected and closed those facilities and arranged staffers who worked at these areas on the days of the woman's visits on February 11 and 14 to stay at home.

They were among three new cases announced yesterday, taking the number of confirmed cases to 84.

The Centre for Health Protection said the 55-year-old KFC chef woman frequently visited Fook Wai Ching She Buddhist worship hall in Maylun Apartments and works at KFC's branch in Ming Yuen Court - less than 200 meters away from the temple.

She makes fried chicken in the kitchen and was unlikely to contaminate food as she had been wearing gloves and masks at work.

"The oil used to fry chicken should also be very hot and would be able to kill the germs and viruses," said the center's head of communicable disease, Chuang Shuk-kwan.

The KFC branch in North Point has been closed since Monday after the woman was confirmed with Covid-19.

A notice on the gate said a staffer was confirmed with the coronavirus and the shop would be closed for 14 days for disinfection and quarantine of employees.

However, the woman also passed the virus to her 24-year-old son, who lives with her at Hong Fook Court in Bedford Garden, North Point.

Chuang said the woman, who is the younger sister of a previously confirmed 57-year-old temple worshipper, started coughing on February 17 and went to Ruttonjee Hospital in Wan Chai on Monday.

The woman's son, who works at 1 Lyndhurst Tower in Central, did not have symptoms but was sent to Ruttonjee after his mother became a confirmed case.

"Though he had no symptoms, a chest scan showed signs of pneumonia and the test for the coronavirus found him positive," Chuang said, adding asymptomatic patients could pose a risk of local transmission.

So far, seven confirmed cases, including the chef, had been to the temple and two others were their close contacts.

Chuang said health officers on Sunday collected 33 environmental samples from Maylun Apartments and found two samples - on a religious manuscript and the faucet in the sink in the toilet - in the temple on the first floor of the building were contaminated with coronavirus.

Other samples taken in public areas including a lift, door handles, doorbell and keyholes were all negative.

Chuang said she noticed a number of confirmed cases live in North Point. Most of them had been to the temple. "I see no reason North Point has become a dangerous place," she said.

But many residents of Hong Kong Island East were concerned and some were seen putting on "full gear," including gloves, goggles and masks, when they run errands.

Chuang said the third confirmed case yesterday was a 33-year-old man who is a station officer at Mong Kok East MTR Station and the son of a previously diagnosed 62-year-old man.

They live together at Choi Tin House, a Lam Tin public estate, where the father also works as a security guard.

The MTR staffer last worked on Thursday when he fell ill with a fever and fatigue. He was admitted to the United Christian Hospital in Kwun Tong after his father was confirmed with the coronavirus.

The MTRC yesterday said the station has been thoroughly cleansed and disinfected. Colleagues who had close contact with the staffer must stay at home.

The Hospital Authority's chief manager for patient safety and risk management, Sara Ho Yuen-ha, said among 84 confirmed cases, 18 have been discharged. Two died earlier.

Among 61 being treated in hospitals, one is in critical condition, five are serious and the remaining 58 are stable.