China News Service, July 24. According to Hong Kong’s Ta Kung Pao, patients with new coronary pneumonia have recorded more than 100 new diagnoses in a day, which is a huge burden on the medical system. The community isolation facility in Lei Yue Mun Park Resort, which has been in preparation for more than three months, was launched on the 24th. The Hospital Authority estimated that it could receive 30 patients close to recovery on the first day, and it is expected to receive 350 people overall. As the patient's condition is stable, it is estimated that the turnover rate is relatively high, which will help relieve the pressure on the second-line isolation wards of public hospitals.
The utilization rate of first-line negative pressure beds and wards in public hospitals has reached 70%, close to saturation. Yu Huiling, chief administrative manager of the Hospital Authority, stated that public hospitals have opened 1,207 negative pressure beds and 649 negative pressure wards, with utilization rates of 74.6% and 76.9% respectively.
Lei Yue Mun Resort was originally a quarantine center, divided into two camps. The Hospital Authority first opened up 230 beds in Camp B on the 24th, and 120 beds in Camp A will also be emptied on the 24th, ready to be opened as a community isolation facility. There are a number of independent houses in the two districts, and more than 200 rooms with separate showers or toilets. They are far away from residential buildings and nearby the Eastern District Hospital for support.
Li Liye, deputy administrative director of Tin Shui Wai Hospital, who participated in the preparation of community isolation facilities, said that patients transferred to Lei Yue Mun Resort must meet certain conditions, including those under 50 years of age, capable of self-care, and fever. Nurses collect deep throat saliva samples for patients every day. The discharge standards for patients are the same as those in public hospitals. Two consecutive deep throat saliva samples must be negative for 24 hours apart.
The resort has been connected to a computer system for clinical procedures. At the beginning, 6 doctors and 23 nurses were on duty. Later, it can be increased to 7 doctors and 42 nurses with the support of medical assistants. The Chief Nurse Leung Ming of the Hospital Authority stated that the recruitment process was smooth and he believed that there were sufficient medical staff. It is understood that the security guards of the Leisure and Cultural Services Department and the AMS will also assist, and there is a police post at the entrance of the resort.
Residents must comply with strict isolation regulations, including staying in the room. Li Liye said that patients have to take their own body temperature, blood pressure, blood oxygen content and other vital indicators for reporting daily, and relevant data will be automatically uploaded to the central system, and medical staff will monitor the patient's health remotely. If the index is abnormal, the system will light up to remind the doctors to pay attention. Doctors and nurses spend 10 to 15 minutes a day on "video rounds" to communicate with patients remotely and perform consultations.
Peng Jiayuan, deputy administrative director of the Eastern District Hospital, said that if a patient is unwell and asks for help, the medical staff can quickly send the patient to the Eastern District Hospital, but it is believed that the situation will not be common.
Regarding the public's concern about whether the resort's beds will fill up quickly, Li Liye believes that the resident patients are generally in stable conditions and should not stay for a long time, so the turnover rate is high. It is believed that circulatory syndrome can effectively relieve the pressure on second-line beds in public hospitals.