• Cheng Vincent C C VCC Department of Microbiology, Queen Mary Hospital, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China. , Shuk-Ching Wong, Chen Jonathan H K JHK Department of Microbiology, Queen Mary Hospital, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China., Yip Cyril C Y CCY Department of Microbiology, Queen Mary Hospital, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China., Vivien W M Chuang, Tsang Owen T Y OTY Infectious Disease Center, Hospital Authority, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China., Siddharth Sridhar, Chan Jasper F W JFW Department of Microbiology, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China., Pak-Leung Ho, and Kwok-Yung Yuen.
• Department of Microbiology, Queen Mary Hospital, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China.
• Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol. 2020 May 1; 41 (5): 493-498.

ObjectiveTo describe the infection control preparedness measures undertaken for coronavirus disease (COVID-19) due to SARS-CoV-2 (previously known as 2019 novel coronavirus) in the first 42 days after announcement of a cluster of pneumonia in China, on December 31, 2019 (day 1) in Hong Kong.MethodsA bundled approach of active and enhanced laboratory surveillance, early airborne infection isolation, rapid molecular diagnostic testing, and contact tracing for healthcare workers (HCWs) with unprotected exposure in the hospitals was implemented. Epidemiological characteristics of confirmed cases, environmental samples, and air samples were collected and analyzed.ResultsFrom day 1 to day 42, 42 of 1,275 patients (3.3%) fulfilling active (n = 29) and enhanced laboratory surveillance (n = 13) were confirmed to have the SARS-CoV-2 infection. The number of locally acquired case significantly increased from 1 of 13 confirmed cases (7.7%, day 22 to day 32) to 27 of 29 confirmed cases (93.1%, day 33 to day 42; P < .001). Among them, 28 patients (66.6%) came from 8 family clusters. Of 413 HCWs caring for these confirmed cases, 11 (2.7%) had unprotected exposure requiring quarantine for 14 days. None of these was infected, and nosocomial transmission of SARS-CoV-2 was not observed. Environmental surveillance was performed in the room of a patient with viral load of 3.3 × 106 copies/mL (pooled nasopharyngeal and throat swabs) and 5.9 × 106 copies/mL (saliva), respectively. SARS-CoV-2 was identified in 1 of 13 environmental samples (7.7%) but not in 8 air samples collected at a distance of 10 cm from the patient's chin with or without wearing a surgical mask.ConclusionAppropriate hospital infection control measures was able to prevent nosocomial transmission of SARS-CoV-2.

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