New Virus Cluster Feared Among Hospital Staff

Authorities on Saturday were bracing for a second cluster of Covid-19 cases involving hospital staff, with three employees at the Tuen Mun Eye Centre believed to have come down with the virus.

The Hospital Authority said a female clerical worker sought treatment on July 16, and tests on a deep throat saliva sample have since come back positive.

Checks have since been carried out on at least 28 other staff members, with results for two of them also preliminarily positive, the authority said.

A statement said all three employees mainly worked in offices on the ground floor and the eye clinic has now been thoroughly disinfected.

Authorities were working with the Centre for Health Protection to trace close contacts of the patients, the statement added.

Microbiologist Yuen Kwok-yung said the employees may have been infected after handling objects tainted by the coronavirus.

He said the workers were protected by glass panels at a reception desk, but came into contact with documents and money.

Yuen also noted there could have been cross-infection during tea breaks in communal areas.

The feared cluster comes just days after several patients and members of staff at Queen Elizabeth Hospital were confirmed to have Covid-19. The patients had all been staying on the same ward.

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