The Centre for Health Protection today said it is investigating an additional case of novel coronavirus infection, taking the number of confirmed cases in Hong Kong to 15.

The case involves a 72-year-old woman with underlying illness who is the mother of the 13th infection case.

She lived in Whampoa Garden and was transferred to Lei Yue Mun Park & Holiday Village for quarantine on February 1. The patient developed fever and cough on the same day and was sent to Queen Elizabeth Hospital, where she was admitted for isolation.

Her respiratory sample tested positive for novel coronavirus and she was transferred to Princess Margaret Hospital for further management, where she is in a stable condition.

According to the patient, she had no travel history and mainly stayed at home during the incubation period.

The remaining four household contacts, namely her daughter-in-law, grandson, granddaughter and domestic helper, continued to stay in Lei Yue Mun Park & Holiday Village for quarantine and remained asymptomatic.

Meanwhile, the Hospital Authority said public hospitals, as of noon and over the past 24 hours, admitted 47 patients who met the reporting criteria of novel coronavirus infection.

The patients include 21 males and 26 females aged between 5 and 92. Their specimens have been sent to the Department of Health for testing.

There are currently 88 patients under isolation, it added.

The authority will maintain close contact with the Centre for Health Protection to monitor the latest developments and to inform the public and healthcare workers on the latest information in a timely manner.

The Centre for Health Protection will update reported novel coronavirus infection cases on its dedicated webpage.