AsiaWorld Expo 'a Week From Taking Patients'

The Hospital Authority said on Saturday that it would take at least a week to prepare the AsiaWorld Expo conference centre to serve as a temporary hospital for patients with mild cases of Covid-19 in a week.

The convention centre will have around 100 beds and will offer facilities such as X-rays and a pharmacy for patients who are not in need of intensive treatment.

The centre is being prepared for use as a makeshift hospital in order to relieve pressure on public hospitals as a third wave of the coronavirus grips the SAR. More than 100 cases a day have been recorded over the past three days, many of which lack a clear source.

Dr Larry Lee from the Tin Shui Wai Hospital says the facility will need at least 10 doctors and around 40 nurses.

Chinese University infectious disease expert and government adviser David Hui said the size of the expo centre meant it would be possible to keep beds spaced well apart.

"It would be more suitable for cases that are actually recovering, so those patients who are quite independent, they don't have any more fever, they don't need any supplemental oxygen, they are just waiting for the specimen to turn negative," Hui said. "So that sort of case would be easier to handle at the AsiaWorld Expo."

Other areas of the 70,000 square metre centre are being used to test people arriving at the adjacent Hong Kong International Airport for the coronavirus.

AsiaWorld Expo usually hosts trade fairs, gigs and other events which dried up since the pandemic began at the start of the year.

Lei Yue Mun Park and Holiday Village was also pressed into service for patients with mild Covid-19 cases this week. Around 30 patients are being transerred there each day.

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