40-day-old infant becomes HK's youngest COVID-19 patient
HONG KONG - A 40-day-old boy was confirmed to be Hong Kong’s youngest COVID-19 patient as the city recorded 51 new coronavirus infections on Wednesday, bringing the tally to 765.
The infant’s parents have so far tested negative for the virus, but a female friend of his parents, later confirmed to be infected, hugged the baby on March 20, the Centre for Health Protection said. The infant is in a stable condition.
Thirty-four of the newly confirmed patients had recently traveled outside Hong Kong. The group included 13 students returning from overseas, a flight attendant and a pilot.
Two more participants of a seven-person karaoke group were also confirmed on Wednesday to be infected. The two previously were the only ones in the group — which had visited a karaoke lounge in Tsim Sha Tsui on March 24 — who had not tested positive for the coronavirus. A family member of one of the group members also was infected.
Other new local cases were mostly close contacts of previously confirmed patients, including two linked to a cluster infection related to three bars. It is the city’s largest infection cluster involving at least 65 patients.
The infection sources of two people without travel records are still being investigated.
The Hospital Authority said four confirmed patients were still waiting to be admitted to a hospital as of 3 pm on Wednesday, while 19 more patients have been discharged.
A total of 557 confirmed patients were still under treatment, with seven in a critical condition. The occupancy rates of the city’s 1,017 isolation beds and 522 isolation wards climbed to 68 percent and 78 percent respectively as of Wednesday noon.