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A medical worker near an elderly care home in Tuen Mun. Photo: Dickson Lee

Coronavirus: Hong Kong health officials urge staff at care homes to undergo more frequent PCR tests amid worsening outbreaks at facilities

  • ‘We urge staff members of care homes to undergo daily rapid antigen tests (RAT) and more frequent PCR testing,’ Dr Albert Au says
  • Hong Kong records 6,513 new Covid-19 infections on Sunday – the fourth straight day with the caseload above the 6,000 mark

Hong Kong health officials have urged staff at care homes to undergo more frequent polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests for Covid-19 amid worsening outbreaks at such facilities and a rising trend of infected employees spreading the virus to residents.

Six care homes for the elderly and disabled reported new Covid-19 cases on Sunday, while 48 logged infections in the past week, according to Dr Albert Au Ka-wing of the Centre for Health Protection. Occupants of one facility were evacuated last week to AsiaWorld-Expo after officials were informed that a staff member and a resident had tested positive for the coronavirus, which later spread to 19 residents and employees.

“We urge staff members of care homes to undergo daily rapid antigen tests and more frequent PCR testing,” Au said.

An elderly care home in Diamond Hill. Photo: Sam Tsang

Hong Kong on Sunday recorded more than 6,000 Covid-19 cases for the fourth day in a row, with 6,513 new infections, including 237 imported ones. Three more people died. The city’s tally stands at 1,458,238 cases and 9,605 related fatalities.

Au said there was an increasing trend of staff at care facilities getting infected before spreading the virus to residents. Nursing home workers are currently required to take a rapid antigen test (RAT) each day and a PCR test every seven days.

“Because of the lower sensitivity of RAT, if someone is asymptomatic before their RAT turns positive, the person is already contagious and will transmit the illness to others,” Au said, adding that employees should not turn up for work if they had any symptoms, even if they had tested negative.

At least 787, or 98 per cent, of the city’s care homes had recorded cases as of early April.

A total of 5,028 residents in care homes have died, about 55 per cent of the deaths related to Covid-19 in the fifth wave which began in December last year.

Hong Kong care homes sound alarm over staff shortages

Au said rising infections at such facilities were expected with more community cases, adding that the situation had improved compared with the peak of the fifth wave in March.

Hospital Authority chief manager Dr Lau Ka-hin said two halls at the AsiaWorld-Expo treatment facility would be used “in the coming few days” to isolate and treat residents who tested positive.

But respiratory medicine expert Dr Leung Chi-chiu said it was “meaningless” for staff to undergo PCR tests before work without receiving the results right away, adding that those who were infected could still be highly contagious in just a few hours and spread the virus to residents.

“The time window [for waiting for their results] could possibly cause second- and potentially third-generation spread in elderly homes,” he said.

Leung said he supported arranging special areas to handle more patients at AsiaWorld-Expo.

Kids receiving the Sinovac jab at a community vaccination centre. Photo: Dickson Lee

“If every patient is rushing to public hospitals, they will be full very soon. Once an outbreak happens, it will be hard to tackle,” Leung said, adding that overcrowding seen in public hospitals during the fifth wave was unlikely to happen again.

Grace Li Fai, an executive council member of the Elderly Services Association of Hong Kong, said more frequent PCR tests could affect the daily operation of care homes.

“Staff members are currently required to undergo PCR tests every seven days. It might still be doable to require them to get tested every three days, but [getting tested] every two days will be a stretch due to their shift arrangement,” Li said.

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She added that the recent outbreaks at care homes could not be compared with the number of cases during the beginning of the fifth wave, given the vaccination rate among such residents had increased.

But she said the government should reserve hospital wards for care home residents as a precautionary measure.

Health minister Lo Chung-mau on Sunday said his top priority was to ensure no residents were missed from getting vaccinated.

Lo said on his blog that the vaccination rate for the first and second dose among residents in nursing homes had risen to about 94 per cent and 90 per cent, respectively, as authorities had arranged for them to receive jabs, while 53 per cent had received the third dose.

Meanwhile, Lo added some 6,400 young children had received their first Covid-19 jab since the age threshold for vaccinations was lowered more than two weeks ago with none of the recipients reporting serious adverse events.

Secretary for Health Lo Chung-mau. Photo: Nora Tam

He also called again on parents to get their children vaccinated amid a recent surge in serious cases among those aged six months to three years.

Earlier this month, a 22-month-old girl became the second child under the age of three to die in Hong Kong after contracting Covid-19.

“I understand some parents are still hesitant to get their young children vaccinated against the coronavirus,” Lo said. “I hope fellow doctors will continue to fulfil their social responsibility by actively providing professional advice to parents based on the children’s health condition and convince them to let their kids get inoculated.”

Lo said Sinovac vaccines were “very safe” for children and “no serious or unexpected adverse events” had been reported among the 6,400 children aged six months to three years who had received their first jab since August 4.

According to Census and Statistics Department data, Hong Kong had 211,300 children aged up to four years as of mid-2022.

Under the current rules, the age threshold for vaccination is six months old, with youngsters allowed to receive the Chinese-made Sinovac shot, while authorities are negotiating with German manufacturer BioNTech to procure its vaccine for children.

Hong Kong approves Sinovac jab for toddlers as officials seek BioNTech formula

In addition to calling for the vaccination of young children, health chief Lo said it was a “dangerous signal” that only 80 per cent of residents aged 60 or above had received their first jab compared with the city’s overall inoculation rate of 93 per cent.

According to Lo, 95 per cent of all coronavirus-related fatalities during the fifth wave involved residents aged 60 or above, most of whom were unvaccinated.

Authorities would soon use text messages to remind residents who had received two doses of a vaccine to get their third jab amid the rising prevalence of new Covid-19 variants, he added.

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