Coronavirus: confirmed Hong Kong cases now 65 as mother-in-law of infected engineer becomes one of three more struck down in virus outbreak
- 83-year-old woman is third person associated with Taikoo Shing family to fall ill
- News comes hours after 70-year-old man with underlying health issues became second fatality connected to virus
The mother-in-law of an engineer infected with the coronavirus was among three new confirmed cases, health officials said on Wednesday, bringing the total in Hong Kong to 65.
That confirmation came hours after a 70-year-old local coronavirus patient died, in the second fatality since the outbreak began in the city in mid-January.
The newly confirmed patient, an 83-year-old woman first admitted to Tuen Mun Hospital for unrelated surgery after a fall, is the third person associated with the same family to have been infected with the virus, which causes the illness Covid-19.
The Centre for Health Protection said her husband, 75, could have been the source of the family outbreak, which had also infected the engineer’s wife. He travelled via the Lo Wu border checkpoint to Dongguan, Guangdong province, six times from January 14 to January 25 and fell ill afterwards.
He attended family gatherings in Hong Kong on January 27 and 29 during the Lunar New Year, and his symptoms later subsided.
