The following is issued on behalf of the Hospital Authority:

     The spokesperson for the North District Hospital (NDH) made the following announcement today (January 18) regarding a doctor tested preliminarily positive to COVID-19:
 
     A medical doctor who is currently rotated to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) attended the Hospital's Accident & Emergency Department last night due to fever and diarrhoea. COVID-19 test was arranged and the preliminary result was positive. The doctor is now being treated under isolation in stable condition.
 
     The doctor started experiencing mild malaise on January 15 and his last date of duty was January 17. His clinical duties include taking care of COVID-19 patients. The doctor intubated a confirmed patient in ICU on January 5 and he was wearing full personal protective equipment while performing the procedure.
 
     The Hospital Infection Control Team is working with the Centre for Health Protection on contact tracing. A nurse in the Medical Department who is a family member of the doctor and two medical doctors who have had meal together with the confirmed doctor are classified as close contact and quarantine will be arranged. They have all undergone COVID-19 tests and the results are negative. As the doctor has been wearing appropriate personal protective equipment during work, no patient is classified as close contact.
 
     As a precautionary measure, viral tests and medical surveillance are being arranged for relevant staff and patients in ICU and the Department of Medicine. Thorough cleansing and disinfection of the areas where the doctor has worked and rested has been arranged. The Hospital will continue to closely monitor the health condition of the concerned staff members and patients and communicate with the Centre for Health Protection on the latest situation.

Ends/Monday, January 18, 2021
Issued at HKT 21:30

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