First Covid-19 Patients Arrive At AsiaWorld Expo

The first Covid-19 patients to be treated at a temporary facility in the AsiaWorld Expo complex arrived on Saturday, with people awaiting admission to public hospitals the first to be taken in.

About 30 patients with mild symptoms of the coronavirus will stay in part of the vast exhibition centre on Lantau Island as work continues on the makeshift health facility.

About a dozen nurses and two doctors are monitoring the first batch of patients and will immediately send them to public hospitals if their condition takes a turn for the worse.

The SAR reported almost 2,000 new coronavirus cases in July, putting heavy pressure on a limited supply of specialised beds in public hospitals and delaying the admission of new Covid-19 patients.

The Hospital Authority had said that the new facility would be designed to take in patients who had been in public hospital and were not ready to return home but whose symptoms were mild. No such patients are being admitted yet.

Earlier on Saturday, mainland authorities confirmed that six medics from Wuhan, who have experience of setting up temporary facilities during the early stages of the virus outbreak, would be sent to help at AsiaWorld Expo.

Officials say about 100 patients will be treated at the new centre. Another section of the convention centre is being used for testing of people arriving at the adjacent airport.