The following is issued on behalf of the Hospital Authority:

     The spokesperson for Pok Oi Hospital (POH) made the following announcement today (May 28) concerning the temporary suspension of negative pressure system in an isolation room:
      
     At around 5.10pm yesterday (May 27), staff from a medical and geriatric Ward noticed that the red light went on as an alarm for the negative pressure system of an isolation room inside the ward. On-site technicians from the Electrical and Mechanical Services Department (EMSD) was informed immediately. Inspection revealed that the suspension of ventilation and negative pressure system of that isolation room was due to the accidental pressing of the emergency stop button by the EMSD contractor during regular maintenance on the roof top that afternoon. The system resumed normal at 5.25pm after rebooting.
      
     According to the record of the ward, a patient was admitted to that isolation room at 4.55pm for taking nasal specimen for COVID-19 testing. By that time the alarm light was green showing that the room was at normal negative pressure level. The nurse completed the specimen taking within 10 minutes and left the room.
      
     The patient stayed in the isolation room until the test result was confirmed negative later that night. As the patient was not suffering from infectious disease and medical staff and patients outside the isolation room had put on appropriate personal protective equipment, the POH assessed that the incident did not pose any risk of infection.

     The POH is very concerned about the incident and has urged the EMSD to review the monitoring and alert mechanism and to perform thorough checking to the system to ensure its proper functioning. The incident has been reported to the Hospital Authority Head Office via the Advance Incident Reporting System.  

Ends/Thursday, May 28, 2020
Issued at HKT 20:35

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