New Wards Reduce Waiting Times For Virus Patients

The Hospital Authority said on Wednesday that it has seen an improvement in the time in which new coronavirus patients have to wait before they are admitted to hospital, after the addition of more isolation beds.

At the peak of the shortage of such beds, patients had to wait for over a day before hospitals took them in.

This had raised fears that building blocks would become virus clusters if infected patients continued to stay in their home for long periods.

The authority's chief executive, Dr Tony Ko, told lawmakers at a Legco finance committee meeting on Wednesday that the wait has now been shortened to under 24 hours on average.

He said around a hundred coronavirus patients had so far been put in the newly added second-tier isolation beds.

“Basically we are able to admit them within the same day [now],” he said. But he added that the process still takes some time as infected patients also need to make some preparations.

Ko also said that the authority's stocks of protective gear have improved, but the supply is still tight due to the pandemic.

He said the authority will continue to source equipment from various suppliers and use what they have carefully.