16-year-old becomes youngest coronavirus case in Hong Kong, as tally climbs to 89

Health officials confirmed today that four more people have tested positive for the COVID-19 coronavirus, taking the total number of confirmed cases in the city to 89.

Chuang Shuk-kwan, head of the Center for Health Protection’s Communicable Disease Branch, announced at a press briefing on Wednesday afternoon that two of the new confirmed cases are siblings — a 21-year-old woman and a 16-year-old boy — and that both were passengers on the Diamond Princess cruise ship.

They returned to Hong Kong on one of the government-chartered flights in recent days bringing residents who were aboard the ship back to the SAR from Japan, where the virus-hit vessel had been quarantined for two weeks.

Chuang said that the sister recorded a fever on Feb. 12 while aboard the ship, but was fine afterwards, while the brother reported a runny nose on Feb. 17.

The pair were tested, and lab results for both came back positive today. The 16-year-old is the youngest person in the city to have contracted the virus.

Chuang also confirmed that the 80-year-old husband of one of the North Point temple-goers to contract the virus in recent days was also confirmed to have the virus. The man in question is the husband of case 74, and the couple live in Maylun Apartments, the same building that houses the Fook Wai Ching She Temple that has seen a cluster of coronavirus cases.

The fourth person to test positive was a domestic worker who worked for case 85, a 60-year-old woman who lives in the private housing complex Swiss Towers in Tai Hang.

Officials announced case 85 late last night, saying she didn’t travel outside of Hong Kong during the 14-day incubation period, but the Jockey Club confirmed that she was a club member, and had used the clubhouse gym and visited its food plaza and LEVADE shopping area earlier this month.

The woman lives in Tai Hang with her husband, son, and two domestic workers, including the one confirmed to have the virus today.

Chuang also noted that a 49-year-old housewife from North Point has been listed as a “probable case,” as she had volunteered at the Fook Wai Ching She Temple. She recorded symptoms such as cough with phlegm and sore throat, and called the CHP hotline after hearing about the infection cluster at the temple.

She has preliminarily tested positive for the coronavirus, and the authorities are waiting for final results.