The Health Bureau said today that as of Tuesday, 71 of the 79 patients admitted to Hospital Authority (HA) hospitals following November’s fire at Wang Fuk Court in Tai Po had recovered and been discharged, while the remaining eight were in a stable condition.

All individuals injured in the fire and admitted to public hospitals are entitled to receive full fee waivers for all necessary healthcare services throughout the entire process of their treatment and rehabilitation, the bureau added.

All residents of the eight blocks at Wang Fuk Court, including foreign domestic helpers, are eligible for full medical fee waivers until December 31 of this year. As of Tuesday, the HA had provided such services to around 1,800 affected residents.

District Health Centres/District Health Centre Expresses across all of the city’s 18 districts have set up hotlines to provide personalised case management services for affected residents. As of Tuesday, the hotlines had received 320 enquiries.

Regarding mental health services, the bureau said that from the time of the Tai Po blaze to January 13, the 18111 Mental Health Support Hotline had received over 15,000 calls, around 730 of which were related to the fire. An associated WhatsApp service has handled over 700 messages, with about 50 of these concerning the fire.

The HA’s 24-hour Mental Health Direct hotline had received 95 calls related to the blaze, with 35 of these coming from affected citizens.