HONG KONG: Hong Kong will quarantine 17 people after the city confirmed its first human case of the deadly H7N9 bird flu, officials said yesterday.
The 17 are mostly relatives of the employer of a 36-year-old Indonesian domestic helper, who is in critical condition in a Hong Kong hospital after a visit to mainland China.
They were all taken to hospital for observation.
“If those who had been in close contact (with the patient) don’t have symptoms, we will later arrange for them to enter quarantine facilities,” health minister Ko Wing-man told a press conference.
“Tonight, five people who were in close contact and do not show signs of infection will enter the quarantine,” Ko said, adding that they will be held until 10 days after their last contact with the carrier.
A government statement later said all 17 people had tested negative for the virus, but would be sent to a holiday village in the seaside town of Sai Kung “for medical surveillance.”
The Indonesian domestic helper had a history of travelling to the mainland city of Shenzhen, just across the border with Hong Kong, and coming into contact with live poultry, Ko said Monday.
AFP
