Calls For More Isolation Beds Amid Admission Delays

The president of the Public Doctors’ Association has urged the government to come up with more isolation beds, on news that some Covid-19 patients have waited for days and still not been admitted to hospital.

"When you stay home, you're likely to infect your family members. However, I would like to say that for this disease, you have an incubation of, let's say, seven to 14 days. So before you tested positive, you already have had very close contact with your family members," Dr Arisina Ma said on an RTHK radio programme.

"On the other hand, if we really run out of any isolation facilities or isolation hospital beds, handling some very stable patients at home is another option (worth consideration)."

But because of Hong Kong's crowded living environment, Ma said there's the need for more isolation facilities for, for example, those who live with elderly relatives at home waiting to be admitted.

On plans to use AsiaWorld-Expo as a hospital for coronavirus patients, she said it could be used to treat patients with mild symptoms and to house residents of elderly care homes where outbreaks have occurred.

Ma also addressed staff morale at public hospitals, which was a concern when some employees went on strike during an earlier outbreak this year.

"Actually the morale is still okay, especially that the Hospital Authority has already started to mobilise different staff in different sectors, it seems to get a better plan on how to handle the Covid," she said.