COVID-19 cases rise to 140 in Hong Kong

Hong Kong's Centre for Health Protection (CHP) said on Saturday that the number of confirmed novel coronavirus cases in Hong Kong has risen to 140, while another case has been tested positive for the virus and is expected to be confirmed later on Saturday.

A 39-year-old female who has been to Dubai and Madrid and a 28-year-old female who travelled to London, January 23 and returned to Hong Kong on March 11 were tested positive, according to Xinhua.

The third additional case involves a 59-year-old male living in the same building with a couple who were members of a tour group to Egypt and were diagnosed with COVID-19 earlier this week.

The inter-departmental response team of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) government has been informed of the case and will inspect the building to identify the possible route of transmission.

Apart from these three confirmed cases, a 59-year-old man has been preliminarily tested positive for the COVID-19 virus and is expected to be diagnosed on Saturday night. The man is a relative of a 54-year-old female who was diagnosed on Friday. Both of them had travelled to Morocco.

Chief Manager for Quality and Standards of Hong Kong's Hospital Authority Lau Ka-hin announced at the briefing that three more cured cases were discharged from hospital on Saturday.

So far, 80 COVID-19 patients and one probable case have left the hospital after recovery, while 54 patients are being treated in isolation in 10 hospitals, all in stable condition, and two are being arranged for hospitalization, according to Lau.