Eight more fall ill after visiting Wuhan

The number of patients placed in isolation in Hong Kong after falling ill following a trip to Wuhan doubled on Sunday to 16. File photo: RTHK

The number of people placed in isolation in local hospitals after falling ill following a visit to Wuhan doubled in the 24 hours to noon on Sunday, with eight new patients bringing the total number of suspected cases to 16.



The youngest of the new patients is a two-year-old girl. She, along with four men and two women, are all in a stable condition at five hospitals across the territory, according to a statement from the Hospital Authority.



A nine-year-old boy was sent to United Christian Hospital after a private doctor referred his case to the authorities.



The authority said none of the patients had visited wet markets in Wuhan – believed to be the source of the unidentified pneumonia – before they came down with fever, respiratory infection or pneumonia symptoms.



Five of the 16 total suspected cases have already been discharged. Ten of them have tested positive for known flu strains, or the common cold.



Hong Kong is on ‘serious alert’, with strengthened health checks at border points, as Wuhan grapples with a mysterious outbreak of viral pneumonia that has affected at least 44 people – with a quarter of them classified as ‘severe’ cases.



Epidemiologists have warned that the new disease bore similarities to Sars, which affected more than 8,000 people across the globe, killing 299 in Hong Kong.



The Health Secretary, Sophia Chan, on Sunday repeated a warning for people not to visit any wet markets across the border, and to avoid consuming any wild game.