HONG KONG, Feb. 16 (Xinhua) -- The number of confirmed cases of novel coronavirus pneumonia (COVID-19) in Hong Kong has increased to 57, while a second patient has been cured and discharged from the hospital, Hong Kong's Centre for Health Protection (CHP) said on Sunday afternoon.
The 57th COVID-19 case in Hong Kong, which was confirmed on Sunday, involves a 54-year-old man living in the Taikoo Shing neighborhood on the Hong Kong Island. The man, with no history of travel during the incubation period, sought treatment at private clinic and public hospital after developing fever and cough days ago, Chuang Shuk-kwan, head of the CHP's Communicable Disease Branch, said at the daily press briefing.
The patient's wife has also been admitted to hospital after presenting with symptoms. The CHP is tracing other people having contact with the patient, Chuang added.
Chief Manager of Hong Kong's Hospital Authority Sara Ho said at the briefing that out of the 57 confirmed cases, one patient has passed away, 54 remain hospitalized, while two have been cured and discharged from the hospital.
After a 25-year-old man diagnosed with COVID-19 was discharged from the hospital on Feb. 12 and became the first cured case in Hong Kong, a 24-year-old male patient left the hospital on Sunday as Hong Kong's second cured case.
The young man was discharged after all his symptoms disappeared, two tests showed negative for novel coronavirus, and the CHP assessed his condition as fit for discharge, Ho said.
