(Combating New Coronary Pneumonia) Hong Kong Heng Tai House with confirmed cases now sent to some quarantine centres
China News Agency, Hong Kong, March 14 (Reporter Wang Laiyi) Three residents of Unit 13 of Hengtai Building, Fuheng Village, Tai Po, Hong Kong have been diagnosed with new crown pneumonia. Huang Jiaqing, director of the Center for Health Protection of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government, reported on the 14th that residents on the 29th to 34th floors of Units 13 and 14 of Hengtai Building will be sent to the quarantine center overnight.
Huang Jiaqing pointed out that a newly-confirmed 59-year-old male patient lived in Unit 3413 on the top floor of Hengtai Building in Fuheng Village that day, while a couple who had been diagnosed after returning to Egypt earlier lived in Unit 3213 in Hengtai Building. For prudence, the relevant departments decided to send the residents of Units 13 and 14 on the 29th to 34th floors of the Hengtai Building to the quarantine center for isolation.
Huang Jiaqing said that the relevant units on the 1st to 28th floors will have the staff of the Architectural Services Department to inspect the pipes of each household. If there is no problem, the residents do not need to be sent to the quarantine center. If the resident is unwell, arrangements will be made to send them to the hospital. Relevant departments will take a sample of deep throat saliva from all residents on the 15th for the new crown virus test.
Yuan Guoyong, Chair Professor of Infectious Diseases, Department of Microbiology, Li Ka Shing School of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, said that after a preliminary inspection by the expert group, the building's throats were designed in accordance with the laws and regulations, and all throats were designed without problems. However, it was found that the residents on the 32nd floor cut off the exhaust pipe and sealed it with adhesive tape. The cause of the infection is still unknown, and it is emphasized that the incident is by no means a replica of the Amoy Gardens incident. The lower-level residents had the first onset this time, and the situation was different from the situation earlier in Tsing Yi Kang Mei House.
Yuan Guoyong pointed out that newly diagnosed patients live on the top floor, and it does not rule out that fecal virus sprays out from the rooftop, and a "turbulent effect" may occur when the breeze blows across the roof, bringing the virus into the room. He emphasized that the "spoiler effect" generally affects no more than five floors, and the relevant departments have isolated the residents on the sixth floor near the top floor for the sake of security.
Xie Zhanhuan, Deputy Director of the Environment Bureau of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government, pointed out that the next step will be to investigate in two directions, including whether other units in the building have been modified or leaking pipes, and the building's waste pipe exhaust pipe is on the rooftop. Into the unit. (Finish)