- The 68-year-old was being quarantined on Chun Yeung Estate, Fo Tan
- Elsewhere, a 96-year-old woman became the second person connected to a Buddhist worship hall in Tin Hau to preliminarily test positive
A man under quarantine in Hong Kong after being evacuated from the Diamond Princess cruise ship tested preliminarily positive for the coronavirus on Saturday, according to medical sources.
The 68-year-old had been quarantined on Chun Yeung Estate, Fo Tan, and tested positive after being sent to Queen Elizabeth Hospital, the sources said.
He was among 208 passengers who returned from Tokyo after being on the boat, all of whom were taken to the estate after their return. He was on the second chartered flight to bring people back to the city, which arrived during Saturday's early hours.
The development came after a 96-year-old woman became the second person connected to a Buddhist worship hall in Tin Hau to preliminarily test positive.
Speaking at a daily press conference, Dr Chuang Shuk-kwan of the Centre for Health Protection said the woman lived with her son, daughter-in-law and a granddaughter at Fly Dragon Terrace on Tin Hau Temple Road.
Last month, she visited the Fook Wai Ching She Buddhist worship hall at Maylun Apartments on King's Road in North Point. The hall was possibly related to the city's 65th confirmed case, pending further investigation.
"Earlier this month, she stopped going out because her leg hurt. She developed fever and started to cough on February 13 and was taken to Eastern Hospital on Saturday morning, because the situation deteriorated and she was having difficulty breathing," Chuang said.
Meanwhile, two people have recovered from Covid-19, the deadly disease caused by the coronavirus, and were discharged from hospital on Saturday. Chuang added that another patient could be discharged later that day.
Third chartered flight to bring cruise ship passengers back from Japan
On Tuesday, a police officer was found to have contracted the disease after attending a party with about 60 others, all of whom had to be quarantined.
Four of the group had developed symptoms, but Chuang said that they had returned to quarantine after being tested negative for the coronavirus.
Chuang also said health chiefs would change their definition of "close contact" to include people who were near a confirmed patient two days before the onset of symptoms, in accordance with the Chinese Centre for Disease Control and Prevention.
"We have spoken to them and understand that the disease can be contagious even in the first few days of the incubation period, so we have made the changes and will start contact tracing for previously confirmed cases," she said.
Older cases that would have passed the 14-day incubation period would not be reviewed, she said.
Meanwhile, three people have contacted the Centre for Health Protection's coronavirus hotline to say they rode in a taxi whose driver was confirmed with Covid-19 on Thursday, Chuang said.
Only one passenger could provide enough details because she had a receipt, which showed she took the taxi on February 5, three days before the driver showed symptoms.
"As she is currently not showing symptoms, we have asked her to observe the situation but we think she is quite safe," Chuang said.
Additionally, Dr Lau Ka-hin, the Hospital Authority's chief manager for quality and standards, said local health authorities were in talks with US pharmaceutical company Gilead Sciences to start clinical trials of its drug Remdesivir in Hong Kong.
The drug is already being trialled on patients in Hubei province, where the outbreak began.
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