Healthy 42-year-old Woman Dies From Covid-19

Health officials on Sunday warned young and healthy people to be vigilant against Covid-19, after a 42-year-old coronavirus patient previously in good health died around a week after developing symptoms.

A Chief Manager of the Hospital Authority, Dr Sara Ho, said the female patient developed a fever, cough and shortness of breath on December 4. She visited the Queen Elizabeth Hospital two days later and passed away on Saturday.

She said the patient’s condition was very serious when she sought treatment at the hospital’s emergency department, and was put on a ventilator immediately.

Ho said this case shows that young people should not presume their symptoms would be mild if they're infected with Covid-19.

“We always emphasize it’s not equivalent that you’re young and you will not develop complications. That’s why we emphasize a lot of times we need to be vigilant. Keep your hand hygiene and infection control measures because you will never know whether you are the ones who are being affected severely by this infection,” she said.

“This is also observed in other overseas experience. Some relatively young-aged infected persons, even if they didn't have any chronic disease, also died in either Italy or the UK. It’s not common but it’s not that rare.”

She urged people to visit a doctor the moment they develop symptoms.

Her comment came as authorities reported 95 new coronavirus cases on Sunday.

Ninety-two infections were locally acquired – 41 via unknown sources.

Dr Chuang Shuk-kwan of the Centre for Health Protection said the proportion of unlinked cases is the highest so far.

Meanwhile, four more residents at a Kowloon Bay housing block hit by a recent Covid-19 outbreak have come down with the disease, bringing the total number of related infections to around a dozen.

Chuang said four residents who live at three different units at Choi Wan Estate in Ngau Chi Wan have also been infected. She said specimen bottles would be distributed there to encourage residents to get tested.