Taikoo Shing resident confirmed with coronavirus

Taikoo Shing resident confirmed with coronavirus

A 54-year-old man with no travel history and no known contacts with confirmed coronavirus patients was on Sunday diagnosed as Hong Kong’s 57th Covid-19 infection.



Like some other previously-confirmed patients, the man had fallen ill and had gone first to a doctor, then a hospital, without being diagnosed.



The patient, who lives at Ming Kung Mansion at Taikoo Shing, had consulted a doctor on February 7, and then to Eastern Hospital three days later.



However, officials said his lung scan was clear and showed none of the hallmarks of someone infected with coronavirus, plus he had none of the usual risk factors like travel to the mainland or contact with any known patients, and was therefore not tested for the Covid-19 virus.



He was eventually diagnosed only after he went back to his doctor on Thursday because he was still unwell, and was admitted to Eastern Hospital on Saturday, where he was finally tested.



Hospital Authority chief manager Sara Ho explained that he didn’t initially fulfill the criteria to be tested.



“The patient had a fever, and… no travel history, no occupational history no contact history of the confirmed case, nor any clustering features”, she said.



“We did a chest X-ray for the patient and the chest X-ray at that time was clear so based on that criteria and the patient is not classified as a reporting case, so that’s why at that time, coronavirus test was not done.”



The authorities also announced that a second patient who had been infected with the coronavirus has been discharged.



Much like the first patient to fully recover from the virus, the patient is a young male with no underlying illness.



“We observe that these two… discharged patients – one of them is 25 years old and another one is 24 years old,” Ho said. “So in general, patients without chronic disease usually recovered sooner and better.”