Expo beds readied to ease crush at hospitals

The Hospital Authority will reopen community treatment facilities today at Asia World-Expo, where some 40 patients will be sent immediately.

Nine hundred beds can be set up in Halls 1 and 2 of the exhibition center, with 200 to be put to use in the initial stage. They will cater to confirmed patients aged between 18 and 60 with mild Covid-19 symptoms, as well as those who test preliminary positive.

Upon reactivation, the community treatment center will admit patients in relative stable condition and who are able to take care of themselves independently so more isolation beds can be made available at hospitals, which can focus on the more severely ill.

"This is to alleviate the pressure on public hospitals and free up hospital beds amid the mushrooming of new cases on top of the flu's peak season, as well as to centralize the resources for taking care of more severe patients," said Linda Yu Wai-ling, the authority's chief manager for clinical effectiveness and technology management.

Confirmed patients with mild symptoms will be sent to Hall 1. They will undergo CT scans and blood tests the following day as well as have their deep-throat saliva collected. Those who test preliminarily positive will stay in Hall 2. If they are confirmed with the coronavirus, they will be transferred to Hall 1.

They may also be transferred to different hospitals, depending on their clinical conditions.

The authority can open four more halls if necessary, offering a total of 1,900 beds in six halls.

Around 150 medical personnel will staff the facilities, including over 70 public hospital doctors and nurses. About 60 private doctors and nurses have indicated their interest to serve there.

Meanwhile, long queues formed outside the Yau Ma Tei testing center yesterday as people from the dance cluster rushed to take tests.

This came as the government made it mandatory for people who had visited 21 dance premises to undergo testing. Those who went to 14 dance premises announced earlier must take the tests by the deadline yesterday, while those who visited another seven newly added premises announced on Monday must take the tests by tomorrow.

Dancers queued for three to four hours outside Henry G Leong Yaumatei Community Centre to get tested.

One who made an online reservation learned that the center only accepted walk-ins for tests covering the dance cluster, meaning she must queue if she wanted to be tested on the same day.

Calling the arrangement chaotic, she ended up taking a sampling bottle home.

The operator explained that online reservations are for paid services, while those who had visited dance premises on the government list were required to join a separate queue.