The fifth wave of the epidemic broke out in Hong Kong, with the number of confirmed cases continuing to exceed 100, and hospital wards may be full.
Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor announced yesterday (4th) that the Penny's Bay Quarantine Center will be gradually transformed into a community isolation facility for asymptomatic patients to isolate, and will no longer be used as a quarantine center.
The government will reduce the quarantine arrangement in stages. Those who are currently under 4-day quarantine (i.e. close contacts of the patient's close contacts) will start home quarantine on a trial basis. Wear a bracelet to prevent illegal going out.
However, from time to time in Hong Kong, due to dilapidated buildings or refitted pipes, vertical transmission occurs, and the virus spreads to different floors of buildings through pipes, chimney effects or turbulence effects.
If a close contact or sub-close contact becomes ill at home, one person may be infected and the whole building will be recruited.
Respiratory specialist Liang Zichao pointed out that although home quarantine is not ideal, Penny's Bay needs to make room to manage patients.
He believes that subdivided housing and buildings that have experienced vertical or horizontal transmission are not suitable for home quarantine; and home quarantine persons should conduct rapid anti-virus tests on their own daily, and conduct intensive nucleic acid tests.
Vertical transmission has occurred in Meixin Building in Tai Po.
(file picture)
Since the outbreak of the epidemic, many cases have been related to the pipes of buildings. In the early days of public housing in Hong Kong, exhaust pipes and feces were placed indoors. Hong Mei Building, Cheung Hong Estate, Tsing Yi, had a leak due to the modification of the pipes, which was suspected to cause the spread of the virus.
In the Regent Garden, the design of the kitchen, toilet and bathroom is all connected to the same manure drain, and there has also been a building spread.
On February 11, 2020, due to vertical transmission in the building, the government announced arrangements to evacuate the residents of 32 households and 07 units in the middle of the night. This is the first case of the epidemic.
(File photo/Photo by Yu Junliang)
The virus spreads to the upper layer through the chimney effect and the turbulence effect
There are many buildings in Hong Kong, and the Meixin Building in Tai Po had vertical transmission last month and needed to be evacuated. Yuan Guoyong, chair professor of the Department of Microbiology of the University of Hong Kong, explained at the time that the low-level virus is likely to be caused by the "chimney effect", and warm air rises through the sewage canal. The type of air trap is dry, especially when the exhaust fan is turned on, a strong negative pressure is generated, and the virus will infect the residents through the air through the sewage. In addition, because the air from the pipe will come out through the patio, the high-rise units may be affected by the "disturbance effect". "Infect.
Since there are still infected residents in the Meixin Building, the vertical transmission in the building has not stopped, and an evacuation operation will be carried out on the 2nd of this month.
▼On February 2, some residents of the Meixin Building in the old market of Tai Po were evacuated and quarantined▼
The same situation can be seen in Dongmanlou, Dakengdong Village. The patient unit on the lower floor is equipped with a powerful exhaust fan, and the virus rises with the warm air drawn out of the house. Because the residents on the upper floor have not closed their windows for many years, it is suspected that the virus was drawn into the unit and spread.
Vertical transmission has occurred in Hong Kong as early as the early stage of the outbreak.
On February 11, 2020, the Hongmei Building in Changkang Village, Tsing Yi, was infected by feces in the building. The government announced in the middle of the night that residents of 32 households and 07 units would be evacuated, which was the first case of the epidemic.
▼On February 1, the inspection of the closed area of Dongmanlou, Dakengdong Village, Sham Shui Po▼
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▼Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor will hold a meeting on February 4▼
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Liang Zichao: There are certain risks in home quarantine
Respiratory specialist Liang Zichao pointed out that home quarantine is not ideal and there are certain risks, but the number of confirmed cases in Hong Kong continues to rise, and it is really necessary to vacate the Penny's Bay Isolation Center to manage patients.
He believes that if the close contacts live in subdivided housing, buildings with vertical or horizontal transmission, and buildings with poor sanitation environment, they are not suitable for home quarantine.
Liang also suggested that the government should require home quarantine persons to conduct rapid anti-source tests on their own daily, and conduct intensive nucleic acid tests to examine deep throat samples. Clear "Health Information Guidelines" explain personal hygiene, how to prevent disease, and regulate quarantined people not to enter the community.
Respiratory specialist Liang Zichao pointed out that home quarantine is not ideal and there are certain risks, but the number of confirmed cases in Hong Kong continues to rise, and it is really necessary to vacate the Penny's Bay Isolation Center to manage patients.
(File photo / Photo by Lin Ruoqin)
▼February 4th Kai Tak Jiahui enclosure inspection▼
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