HK hospitalises seven more people who travelled to Wuhan

Hong Kong

HONG Kong public hospitals admitted seven more people with flu-like symptoms who had recently travelled to the central Chinese city of Wuhan, bringing the total number of reported cases in the city to 15 since the end of last month.

The patients, aged between two and 55, all visited Wuhan in the past 14 days and display fever, respiratory infection or pneumonia symptoms, the Hospital Authority said in a statement on Sunday. All are being kept in isolation, according to the statement.

The government on Saturday classified its response level to the outbreak as "serious" - the second-highest scale of action in its three-tier system, with the top being emergency, according to a statement from the Department of Health. The current classification estimates the immediate health impact on the local population to be moderate.

As at Friday, 44 people had been diagnosed with pneumonia in Wuhan, while the cause is still unknown. The mysterious lung infection is being monitored by the World Health Organization, which said it is in active communication with its counterparts in China, where an investigation is underway to determine the cause.

Some of those infected worked at a fresh seafood and produce market in Wuhan, which sold birds, pheasants and snakes, along with organs of rabbits and other wildlife, the University of Minnesota's Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy said. BLOOMBERG