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| The pilot was tested at Princess Margaret Hospital where he sought treatment for a finger injury |
The 43-year-old private jet pilot reportedly stayed in the
hospital ward for only about 30 minutes and was wearing a mask the whole time. He
was immediately put in isolation at the same hospital after a routine test
showed he had the virus.
Dr Chuang Shuk-kwan of the Centre for Health Protection said
the man’s viral load was low and “not very active” so it was not likely that he
infected others.
Chuang also said it was likely the man got infected during
one of his travels abroad so his case is being treated as an imported one.
However, the pilot, who raised Hong Kong’s total tally to
1,052, tested negative in an earlier test done on him in mid-April, a few days
after flying back to Hong Kong from trips in the United
States and France
As a pilot, he was among those exempted from the mandatory
home quarantine for newly arrived residents, but despite this, he reportedly isolated
himself for three weeks.
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Chuang says the pilot might have caught the virus before mid-March, when he returned briefly to Hong Kong from London
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| Chuang (left) thinks the pilot had the virus as early as 2 months ago although he tested negative in mid-April |
Between Mar 16 and 17, while in France, the pilot reported having a slight
fever but did not seek treatment, and recovered on his own.
He returned to Hong Kong on
Mar 31, and immediately went into self-quarantine. His test result showed he
did not have the virus.
On May 9, he met up with his girlfriend and then went to a
private doctor to get himself tested, and the result was again negative.
But after injuring his finger during a sporting activity, he was sent to Princess
Margaret’s orthopaedic ward today, where the routine test showed he had the
virus.
Meanwhile, health officials say the source of infection of
the three members of a family in Tsuen Wan who were found infected earlier this
week remains unknown.
Two of the patients are an elderly couple, aged 66 and 63,
and the third is their five-year-old granddaughter who lives in another
building.
Chuang had said it was possible the grandfather who repaired
watches on a fixed stall along Tsuen
Wan Market Road
Swab tests have begun on about 1,000 people residing in 850
households in the two housing estates where the patients live, and on some
shopkeepers in the market the grandmother frequented.
Results of the tests have yet to come out.
