Another Lek Yuen Resident Tests Positive For Covid

An elderly man living in a Sha Tin housing block at the centre of a Covid-19 outbreak has also tested positive for the virus, sources told RTHK on Thursday.

The 72-year-old was being treated in hospital and was suffering from a fever.

The man lives in Luk Chuen House on Lek Yuen Estate which has seen six confirmed coronavirus cases since the weekend.

Two colleagues of one of the residents there have also been confirmed to have the virus, as well as a paramedic who treated the resident.

Officials have been offering Covid-19 tests to people living in Luk Chuen House, while disinfectant work has been carried out in the building.

On Wednesday, some residents expressed fear that they too would come down with the virus, and some were seen leaving their flats to live somewhere else temporarily.

The authorities have rejected calls by some experts to put the residents of the block under medical surveillance, make it obligatory for them to provide saliva samples for tests, and to ban them from going to restaurants or entertainment venues.

The government instead urged anyone who feels unwell to visit their doctor and for doctors to offer Covid-19 tests to any patient who shows even just mild symptoms.

Hong Kong has so far confirmed 1,098 coronavirus infections, with four fatalities.