The cause of death of a chronically ill woman infected with the epidemic was that two housing estates were evacuated from the Department of Health for 4 days before being contacted

A 60-year-old woman suffering from long-term diseases such as diabetes and kidney disease died suddenly while waiting for isolation at home. After her death, she was infected with new coronary pneumonia. The inquest into her death continued today (31st). A nurse from the Department of Health testified that she had spoken to the woman Her daughter contacted her. She had recorded that the woman had multiple long-term illnesses, but she had no symptoms of the new crown at the time. Whether she was prioritized for isolation had to be decided by a doctor.

An administrative director of the Department of Health said that there were large-scale evacuations such as Kwai Shing West Village and Lai Cheong Garden at that time, and a large number of documents were accumulated. As a result, the department only dealt with the woman's case two days later, and contacted her two days later to no avail. , and later learned from the news that the woman had died.

The deceased, Lu Shuxian (62 years old), worked in a nursing home and lived with her young daughter Zhao Hailing in a unit in Meitao Building, Meilin Village at the time of the incident.

Lu was found unconscious at home on December 12, 2020, and was certified dead at the scene.

The autopsy report showed that Lu died of new coronary pneumonia, and it was presumed that he died the day before he was discovered.

Nurse Kong Fengmei said that when she contacted the daughter of the deceased Lu Shuxian, she had noted that Lu had long-term illnesses, but it was up to the doctor to decide whether to give priority to treatment.

(Photo by Ling Ziqi)

The daughter has explained the situation but has not contacted Lu personally

Nurse Kong Fengmei confessed that she used to work in the Student Health Service Center and was transferred to the Center for Health Protection when the incident occurred.

After the Department of Health received Lu's daughter Zhao Hailing's diagnosis, Kong called Zhao to contact her on December 9. Since Zhao was an obstetrics and gynecology nurse, the department was nervous.

Zhao said that she lived with Lu, she had written down Lu's phone number, and planned to contact Lu in person in the future, but Zhao was worried about her mother "Lin Nai" and answered some information on her behalf, such as checking her English name, so she did not contact Lu in person.

The form does not need to fill in the degree of chronic illness

Kong continued to point out that Zhao revealed that Lu was suffering from a long-term illness and needed to take medicine regularly, but he had no symptoms of the new crown and was able to take care of himself. He also asked Lu Ke if he could go out and hand over his saliva samples.

Kong pointed out that Lu was listed as a close contact and was not allowed to go out. Zhao asked relatives, friends or neighbors to deliver meals for his mother, and also provided the department's emergency hotline to Lu in case of emergency.

As for the degree of long-term illness, Kong said that he did not ask, because it is not necessary to fill out the form in such detail.

Prioritization is at the doctor's discretion

Kong also said that at that time, the department had no mechanism to prioritize the isolation of high-risk close contacts such as bedridden and infants. If close contacts had symptoms of new crown symptoms, they would immediately report to the doctor and arrange to be sent to the hospital as soon as possible.

She said that every case will be reported, and if there is a long-term illness, it will be recorded, but it is up to the doctor to decide whether it is a priority.

As for the close contacts who were sent to the isolation camp, they would be taken care of around the clock by the department, such as food deliveries and temperature checks. Kong said, "It will take a day or two."

Government doctor Xie Cuiting said that when she received the information about the deceased Lu Shuxian, she did not list her diabetes and other medical conditions, and she considered it to be an ordinary patient, so she was not suspicious.

(Photo by Ling Ziqi)

The follow-up team fills in the information and submits it to the doctor for follow-up

When asked by the family, the department claimed that it would arrange for Lv to be quarantined as soon as possible, but after her death, it still could not be arranged.

Kong pointed out that her work only covers case tracking, and then it will be transferred to the task force responsible for isolation for follow-up.

Twenty minutes after she finished talking with Zhao that day, she filled out the information and handed it over to the doctor for follow-up, describing: "I'm a race against time."

The doctor pointed out that the form did not list the condition of Lv's long-term illness

Government doctor Xie Cuiting stated that after receiving the information filled out by Kong on December 9, she had issued a quarantine order to Lu on the same day, pending the arrangement of the special team for isolation.

As Lui was asymptomatic at the time, he did not need to be referred to the emergency department for follow-up.

At that time, the Department mainly decided to prioritize cases depending on whether the close contacts had symptoms or had special care needs.

Seeing that Lui's diabetes and high blood pressure were not listed on the form, she believed that she was suffering from a common long-term disease, so she was not suspicious.

If there is a listed situation, the patient will be called to inquire

Some jurors asked, if Xie received the information that the close contact had severe diabetes, would she follow up?

Xie said that in such a situation, she would discuss it with her supervisor and call the close contact for further inquiries, and if the other party felt unwell, she would send it to the emergency room.

If there are buildings to be evacuated, priority will be given

Su Weixuan, the administrative director of the Department of Health, said that after receiving the quarantine order, the department will register the information of the people to be quarantined in the computer system, and then contact them. How long it takes depends on the situation. If there are building residents who need to evacuate, The representative found that there was a serious transmission chain in the area, and the department needs to give priority to handling. Half of the team he belongs to will be dispatched to support.

On December 9 and 10, 2020, both Kwai Shing West Village and Lai Cheong Garden were evacuated.

(See the picture below for details)

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During the same period, there were evacuation operations in Kwai Shing West Village and Regent Garden

Su recalled that she received Lu's quarantine order on December 9, but due to the evacuation of Kwai Shing West Village and Regent Garden during that period, "too many documents accumulated", Lu's information was not registered until the 11th. .

On the 13th and 15th, the department tried to contact Lu Buguo twice, but at that time it was not known that she had passed away. It was not until the case was reported by the media and the department received inquiries that they learned of Lu's death after investigation.

When it comes to whether there is a priority mechanism for arranging isolation, Su pointed out that the decision is mainly based on the information filled in by the nurse and the doctor's guidelines. If the doctor specifically notifies that some cases are more urgent, they will be sent to the hospital for treatment, and it is still mainly judged by the doctor.

Case No.: CCDI-367/2021(DK)

Long-term sick woman died of the epidemic due to waiting for isolation and her daughter died at home. No one from the department contacted the new crown pneumonia | Residents of block 8 of Kwai Shing West Village received negative results today and packed up their children with their children to evacuate from the new crown pneumonia | 104 new confirmed cases of Kwai Shing West Village Residents in Block C, Block 8, Jinfeng Court, are exempted from mandatory inspections for new crown pneumonia｜Regent Gardens set up a temporary testing center, more than 100 people lined up, residents criticized the information confusion for new crown pneumonia｜Room D, Block 6, Regent Gardens was evacuated last night. Room D, Block 6, Regent Gardens was evacuated, some residents refused to leave at one time, negotiating experts were dispatched