Virus scare at Hospital Authority HQ after new cases

Two men infected with the virus were at the Hospital Authority's headquarters a few days ago for a meeting. File photo: RTHK

Hong Kong's health officials have found themselves at the centre of a coronavirus scare, with two men infected with the illness recently visiting the Hospital Authority's headquarters.



Sources said on Monday that a 45-year-old man has likely become one of the city's newest coronavirus patient, and he is the colleague of a Taikoo Shing resident whose infection was confirmed on Sunday.



The two men were at the Hospital Authority's headquarters on Argyle Street for a meeting a few days ago, and officials there said the areas the pair had been in had since been cleaned and disinfected.



The SAR's latest virus patient is being treated in Queen Elizabeth Hospital.



His 54-year-old colleague had first gone to see a doctor on February 7 after becoming unwell. But a hospital gave him the all-clear three days later, and it took another visit to the doctor and a second hospital visit before his diagnosis was confirmed.



Officials explained that the man did not have the usual hallmarks of the illness and his risk of having caught the virus was believed to have been low because he had not travelled to the mainland recently and was not known to have come into contact with other carriers.



On February 7, hundreds of striking medical workers occupied the Hospital Authority's headquarters, as they pressed the government to completely seal the border with the mainland and to provide them with adequate protective gear during the outbreak.