A Patient Care Assistant working in a medical ward in Tseung Kwan O Hospital has tested positive for COVID-19.

The Hospital Authority said the assistant was arranged to undergo testing for COVID-19 as her family member tested positive for the virus.

The staff member is mainly responsible for patient care.

She did not perform any high-risk clinical procedures and was equipped with appropriate personal protective equipment at work. No patients were identified as close contacts.

Eight staff members who had meals or stayed in the same room overnight with the assistant were identified as close contacts and will be quarantined.

As a precautionary measure, the hospital has arranged viral tests for the staff and patients of the ward concerned. So far, all available results have been negative.

The ward has suspended admission and thorough cleansing and disinfection have been conducted. 

Additionally, one more administrative staff of the Hospital Authority Head Office’s Information Technology & Health Informatics Division tested preliminarily positive for COVID-19. 

He works in the adjacent office on the same floor of the staff member who was infected earlier.

All staff members of the division working on the first floor of Block R at Kowloon Hospital will be quarantined.

Those who work on the ground floor of Block R are required to get tested and work from home.