(To watch the whole media briefing with sign language interpretation, click here.)

A patient who was aboard the Diamond Princess cruise in Japan has again tested positive for COVID-19, the Hospital Authority announced today.

The 85-year-old man was confirmed to be infected with the virus in Japan on February 4.

He later tested negative for the disease twice on March 6 and 9 and then returned to Hong Kong on March 10. He later felt chest discomfort.

“The patient was admitted because of chest pain, so the doctor suspected he was suffering from an ischemic heart disease instead of any chest infection or any kind of pneumonia,” Hospital Authority Chief Manager (Quality & Standards) Dr Lau Ka-hin told a press briefing this afternoon.

“But after admission, the patient told a health worker that he had some cough, which may be common after pneumonia. To play safe, we put the patient in the surveillance ward and then did the test for the coronavirus.

“Initially, the result was weakly positive and then we put the patient in the isolation ward and then did the test again by the Department of Health and it turned out to be positive today.”

For information and health advice on COVID-19, visit the Government's dedicated webpage.