Doctor wants reporting stations at public hospitals

An official checks passengers' temperature at Hong Kong International airport. The government has increased screening for people arriving from Wuhan. File photo: AP

The head of the Hong Kong Doctors Union on Thursday called on the government to set up reporting stations at public hospitals for people who have returned from Wuhan with symptoms related to a mystery illness oubreak.



Henry Yeung said encouraging such people to seek medical help directly at public hospitals could prevent other patients being infected at private clinics.



After reporting a patient with the disease, the patient is expected to wait until they can be escorted to a public hospital, increasing the chance of infecting others, Yeung said.



"This may be a chance of spreading the disease in the small, crowded clinics in Hong Kong and this is what we are worried [about]," Yeung said.



He added that currently doctors cannot detain a patient.



There have been around 40 suspected cases of the respiratory illness in Hong Kong.