Four Prince of Wales doctors sent to quarantine

Four doctors who treated a man who tested positive for Covid after being involved in a traffic accident were sent to quarantine on Thursday, while three patients who were in the same cubicle at an intensive care unit have been moved to isolation wards.

The 29-year-old man, a construction worker and food delivery rider, was taken to the accident and emergency department at Alice Ho Miu Ling Nethersole Hospital on Wednesday evening before being transferred to Prince of Wales Hospital and moved to intensive care later that night. A Covid test, taken on admission, later turned out to be positive.

A spokesperson for the Hospital Authority’s New Territories East group said tests had been carried out on 11 patients who were on the same ICU ward. All came back negative, but three patients who were treated in the same cubicle were sent to isolation.

The spokesperson said staff didn’t carry out any high-risk procedures on the man, except taking throat and nose swabs for the Covid test. All staff wore full protective equipment, and 43 staff members who provided care for the patient all tested negative.

Four Prince of Wales doctors who examined the patient while he was maskless were classified as close contacts and have been sent to quarantine.

“Thorough cleansing and disinfection had been conducted at areas where the patient had stayed,” the spokesperson said. “Both hospitals would continue to closely monitor the health condition of staff and patients and communicate with the Centre for Health Protection on the latest situation.”

At a press conference earlier on Thursday, the Centre for Health Protection’s Chuang Shuk-kwan said the driver had a low viral load and subsequently tested negative.