Hong Kong Hospitals Almost Full Capacity

A makeshift emergency field hospital has been set up in Central Park

In the news there are pictures of large white tents set up in Central Park in New York City, a makeshift emergency field hospital that will hold 68 beds. So far New York has over 33,000 confirmed coronavirus cases, and over 770 people have died.

Dr Lau Ka-hin warns isolation wards are in short supply

Meanwhile in Hong Kong, health officials are warning there soon will not be enough beds, particularly isolation wards. Could there be a field hospital set up in say, Victoria Park? We should not be surprised.

Today in a press conference, Dr Lau Ka-hin, the Hospital Authority's chief manager in quality and standards, warned that isolation beds were increasingly in short supply, revealing that 39 of the infected cases out of 41 cases today were still waiting to be admitted into hospital.

He added the occupancy rate of isolation wards in some hospitals was already at 100 percent as of noon today. Currently there are 489 positive cases being treated in 14 hospitals. While patients are being discharged, Lau added it took time to completely disinfect the bed and area that the patient had occupied so it wasn't as if another patient could take the bed right away.

Some 39 positive cases are waiting to be admitted to hospital

They will determine those without a fever for 48 hours, no breathing problems, infection symptoms or diarrhea could be moved to "second-line" isolation wards, or general wards that had been converted to have isolation functions.

Everyday there are on average over 40 positive cases, the majority of them from overseas, and Hong Kong must accept them if they are residents of the city, so we must care for them too.
This is why people in Hong Kong need to take social distancing very seriously. If there is no particularly reason for you to go out, don't. Best to stay at home and stay clean.

One bar/cafe with this sign on its door

In any event, several restaurants and cafes are shutting down temporarily to protect not only their staff, but also prevent gatherings in their establishments -- they don't want to be in the media to be known for having positive cases.

So there are many signs like this now. And it's true, we're all in this together so we need to work together. Stay home, stay safe.