The outbreak of the new crown virus caught the government by surprise. The number of patients exceeded the capacity of the medical system. Those who could not be admitted to the hospital rushed to the A&E department. Some hospitals therefore had to "authorize" wards in the open air. Officials who have inspected the situation described the situation as a third world. .
What's more, there are still about 10,000 patients who have to stay at home to "recover", with the risk of spreading the virus, causing many families to be recruited and even affecting their neighbors.
In the middle of the night on February 15, in the temporary waiting area outside the emergency room of Caritas Hospital, some parents were resting in the tent with their children, while some patients were waiting in the cold wind.
(Photo by Li Zetong)
The government is planning to build a "fangcang shelter hospital" and will convert some of the newly completed public housing into isolation facilities, but it will not happen overnight.
Chief Executive Carrie Lam said yesterday (15th) that more whole-building hotels are being identified as facilities for isolating confirmed patients to make up for the shortage of hospital beds.
It is understood that Carrie Lam met with real estate developers today to discuss, seeking companies to provide their hotels for the government to accommodate patients.
▼On February 15, Caritas Hospital set up tents in the open space to accommodate patients in the emergency department▼
+12
"Hong Kong 01" recently used a simple analysis to deduct the total number of confirmed and preliminary confirmed cases, and deducted the number of recovered and discharged patients, the number of deaths, and the number of patients still in hospital. It is also true that there are thousands of patients waiting to be admitted to the hospital. Of course, the 5,400 people who were still initially diagnosed yesterday were also not included. The two numbers together must exceed 10,000.
Data on "Real-time Effective Reproduction Rates for Local Cases" from the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Hong Kong.
How many invisible patients are there in the community?
The reporter asked some experts for advice yesterday, but they were unable to make an estimate.
According to the "Real-time Effective Reproduction Rate of Local Cases" by the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Hong Kong, the latest has dropped from 6 in early January to 4 in early this month, representing one patient to 4 others, which is equivalent to the peak of the third wave of the epidemic in the previous year. , but at that time the maximum number of cases in a single day was only 149.
Based on the cumulative 10,854 cases in the past 14 days, the number of patients is quite staggering.
On the afternoon of February 15, in the temporary waiting area outside the emergency room of Caritas Hospital, patients slept in open beds like this, and the elderly had to add thermal insulation blankets, and the medical staff took care of them.
(Photo by Yu Junliang)
At present, self-test positive patients need to submit a saliva sample for review by the Department of Health. It is difficult to find a sample bottle in the market, and many people go to the emergency room to "call for help". Seek hospitalization.
Many hospitals have set up tents as temporary wards in open spaces near the emergency room. Among them, at least 20 people were seen in the emergency room of Yuen Long Pok Oi Hospital yesterday (15th) lying on hospital beds or sitting on plastic stools. People need to be covered with blankets to keep warm; in the outdoor isolation area of Caritas Hospital, there are old and young patients who are sitting and lying down, waiting for test results or the chance to be admitted to the hospital.
Some officials have visited the hospital and were surprised by the situation, describing it as a situation like the third world, and it must be resolved as soon as possible.
▼On February 15th, the emergency rooms of many hospitals were overcrowded and some patients were placed in open spaces▼
+8
Chief Executive Carrie Lam decided to put her hands on the hotel first and find more facilities that can be used as isolation facilities for confirmed patients to solve the problem of patients staying in their residences.
She pointed out yesterday that there are currently eight or nine hotels for quarantine of close contacts. Since home quarantine is on track, these hotels will gradually be converted into community isolation facilities, but the number is still not enough. Instead, we will work with the hotel industry to formulate a plan that can provide thousands to 10,000 hotel rooms. "I will personally discuss this cooperation plan with the hotel industry. It should be tomorrow."
It is understood that many local hotels are actually owned by real estate developers. Carrie Lam will meet with the relevant people today to discuss and seek a cooperation plan between them and the government.
▼On February 15, the government announced that Huangyi Building and Huangcheng Building in Queens Hill Village, Fanling were listed as isolation facilities▼
+4
Cui Dingbang, director-general of the Tourism Promotion Association, revealed that the current occupancy rate of hotels for inbound quarantine is only 20-30%, and at least 7,000 rooms can be provided at any time for patients to be quarantined.
Legislative Council member of the tourism industry, Yiu Pak-leung, estimated that practitioners may not be responsible for the front-line work. He believes that if the government provides support, the hotel industry can be attracted to participate.
▼North Lantau Hospital Hong Kong Infection Control Center (Temporary Hospital)▼
+3
Home Quarantine Building | 84 new residences on the list, including Shunli Disciplinary Services Quarters Block 6 Mandatory Testing | 22 more buildings in Sha Tin District, 6 buildings in Central Vietnam Restaurant BEP on the list Epidemic situation | 3-year-old girl and 100-year-old woman Rui died together tonight The youngest and oldest of the 225 dead were tested in the closed area | The resident of Ching Long House, Ching Ho Village, Sheung Shui was diagnosed with positive sewage, and was quarantined at night and forced to check the epidemic | The government plans to look for quarantine hotels to isolate patients Industry: at least 7,000 rooms can be provided Designated clinics Q&A | Seven The clinics are distributed in various districts and need to make an appointment by telephone. Rapid test is not applicable.