Kwai Chung man, 80, tests positive for coronavirus

The man is being treated at Princess Margaret Hospital. Photo: RTHK

The Centre for Health Protection said late on Saturday that a 14th person has tested positive for the novel coronavirus that originated in Wuhan, with further tests scheduled to confirm the diagnosis.



The 80-year-old man, who lives with his wife at Luk Kwai House in Kwai Chung, was admitted to the Caritas Medical Centre with fever on Thursday and has since been transferred to the Princess Margaret Hospital.



An investigation is now studying how the man contracted the virus. He's in a stable condition.



The centre says the man had made only a brief visit to the mainland recently, spending a few hours there after crossing the Lo Wu checkpoint into Shenzhen on January 10.



He also took a flight to Tokyo on January 17 and joined a cruise from Yokohama with his two daughter on January 20. They arrived at the Kai Tak Cruise Terminal on January 25.



The centre says the man had not visited health facilities, wet markets or had contact with wild animals during the incubation period. He developed a cough on January 19 but only sought treatment after a fever developed on Thursday.



Meanwhile the centre has placed two Hong Kong residents under medical observation after they travelled on the same train from Wuhan to Pingxiang, Jiangxi province, on January 21. A fellow passenger was confirmed to have the virus.



Health officials expressed worries earlier on Saturday as they said a 75-year-old man could’ve been infected with the new coronavirus locally.



The man was confirmed as Hong Kong’s twelfth case of the infection on Thursday. He returned from Shunde in Guangdong on January 7 and visited Macau between January 10 and 14. Then he spent almost all of his time in his neighbourhood of Tsing Yi