Two Schools To Close After Covid Cases Detected

Health authorities say two schools will need to shut for 14 days and all their staff and students will need to undergo Covid-19 tests, after confirmed cases of the coronavirus were detected there.

A cleaner at the Red Swastika Society Tuen Mun Primary School and a teacher at Canossa College in Quarry Bay were among the 84 coronavirus cases confirmed by officials on Saturday.

Dr Chuang Shuk-kwan from the Centre for Health Protection (CHP) said the teacher has a close contact who teaches at Tak Ching Girl's Secondary School in Cheung Sha Wan, but his first Covid-19 test on Friday had come back negative.

"[Friday] was also his last day of work. So we think, as a precaution, the school has to close for one or two more days... in case he's positive, we still have to ask the school to suspend classes," Chuang said.

Of the city’s 84 new cases, 27 had no clear source of infection.

The number of infections linked to the dance cluster continued to grow, with 48 additional cases bringing the overall tally to 416.

Three patients, Indonesian domestic helpers in quarantine, were classified as imported cases.

Officials said there were around 80 preliminary positive cases.

The Hospital Authority also reported a hiccup involving a 64-year-old patient, who medical staff at Yan Chai Hospital didn’t realise was infected with the coronavirus because they “forgot” to read a fax from the CHP.

The authority's chief manager, Linda Yu, said the patient was sent from a quarantine centre to hospital on Tuesday. She had a fever and pneumonia, and two swab tests came back negative for Covid-19.

On Wednesday, the CHP sent a fax to the hospital that the woman was actually positive for Covid-19, but hospital staff didn't read it until a day later.

Yu said the swab tests probably couldn't detect the virus because she was infected in her lower respiratory track, not upper.

Yu added that the patient was isolated during her stay at an internal ward, and she didn't come into contact with the other patients there. She said all medical staff there had also put on proper protective gear while treating the patient.