Security Beefed Up To Prevent Patients From Escaping

The Hospital Authority says security will be beefed up at hospitals to try to prevent patients from escaping.

A male patient fled his isolation ward in Queen Elizabeth Hospital on Friday and was captured by the police on Sunday night. He has since been brought back to the hospital.

The Hospital Authority said security guards have been deployed to guard the entrance to his ward and there will be increased patrols around the hospital.

The authority is also stepping up security at other hospitals.

"The Hospital Authority has asked all hospitals that have patients in isolation to review the current security measures, including assessing the risk of patients during admission, from the patient's condition as well as the previous history, as well as enhancing the security measures when there is a chance of abscondence of the patients, including using the monitoring as well as arranging the security guard to prevent the patients from running away from the ward," said Lau Ka-hin, a chief manager of the authority.

The Centre for Health Protection’s Chuang Shuk-kwan said authorities are trying to find out where the 63-year-old patient had gone over the past few days, adding the police will also conduct their own probe before deciding whether to press charges against him.

“If we have more information on whether he had been in touch with anybody, we will access whether they are considered close contacts and put them into quarantine,” she said.

Meanwhile, residents of three more buildings have been ordered to undergo mandatory testing following a spike in Covid-19 cases.

The Centre for Health Protection said everyone who lives or has visited Shek Wing House of Shek Lei (II) Estate in Kwai Chung, Yat Lai House of Yau Lai Estate in Yau Tong and Block A of Ming Wah Dai Ha in Shau Kei Wan since November 25 will have to be tested, after at least four units at each building reported infections.

Authorities will also distribute specimen bottles at Lei Yue Mun Estate and Tak Tai Building in Tsuen Wan after several residents there tested positive.

Hong Kong reported 85 new Covid-19 cases on Monday.

Seventy-eight are local cases, and authorities have been unable to trace the source for 27 of them.

There are also about 50 preliminary positive cases.