COVID-19 patient tests positive again

May 7, 2020

Hospital Authority Chief Manager (Quality & Standards) Dr Lau Ka-hin: 

Case number 410 was first admitted to Queen Mary Hospital on March 24 because of a fever (which lasted) for a week. He was discharged on April 16 after two consecutive negative tests for COVID-19. 

The patient presented to the Accident & Emergency Department of Queen Mary Hospital on May 5 because of some abdominal pain and diarrhoea. He was admitted to our hospital and was found to have a positive result for COVID-19 in the throat saliva, but the Ct (cycle threshold) value is very high - nearly 36. The experts consider that this is the residual virus left in the patient’s body, which is not infective, and it is not likely to be a reinfection at this moment.

(To watch the full press briefing with sign language interpretation, click here.)

A recovered COVID-19 patient has tested positive for the virus again, the Hospital Authority announced today.

The authority’s Chief Manager (Quality & Standards) Dr Lau Ka-hin told a media briefing this afternoon that the patient was first admitted to Queen Mary Hospital on March 24 after having fever for a week. He subsequently tested positive for COVID-19.

He was discharged on April 16 after two consecutive negative tests for the virus.

Dr Lau said: "The patient presented to the Accident & Emergency Department of Queen Mary Hospital on May 5 because of some abdominal pain and diarrhoea.

"He was admitted to our hospital and was found to have a positive result for COVID-19 in the throat saliva, but the cycle threshold value is very high - nearly 36.

"The experts consider that this is the residual virus left in the patient’s body, which is not infective, and it is not likely to be a reinfection at this moment."

He added that the patient is in a stable condition.