Officials announce two more COVID-19 cases, total at 67

Health authorities announced two more cases of COVID-19 today, taking the total tally of infections in Hong Kong to 67 so far.

Dr. Chuang Shuk-kwan, head of the Center for Health Protection’s Communicable Disease Branch, said the 66th case involves a 75-year-old man who is the husband of the city’s 63rd confirmed patient and father-in-law of the 57th patient.

The man never actually tested positive for the virus, but developed a cough and shortness of breath on Jan. 25, and consulted two private doctors three times in late January and early February. He later felt better and appears to have recovered on his own, but is believed to have infected his relatives first.

Before he fell sick, the man had visited Guangdong multiple times during the incubation period, and may have contracted the coronavirus there, Chuang said.

“It’s not a confirmed case yet, but it’s highly suspicious because he has an epidemiological link with a confirmed case and his CT scan is suspicious. It shows a small amount of ground glass appearance, so it’s compatible with the novel coronavirus infection,” she said, referring to a CT scan term for lung obstructions.

“So based on the epidemiological information and the clinical presentation, we think that this is a probable case.”
The other new case involves a 38-year-old woman who lives in Sau Mau Ping and works as a cashier at a congee and noodle restaurant in Yau Tong.

She visited doctors twice after developing a fever and cough in early February, before being confirmed as having the virus at United Christian Hospital in Kwun Tong.

Chuang also noted that a 58-year-old taxi driver preliminarily tested positive for the virus after he fainted and was sent to North District Hospital. He is said to have suffered from a fever for around two weeks.

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