A group of 262 primary 6 students from a Hong Kong local Primary School participated in a 4-day summer camp organized by the School of Science of HKUST (Hong Kong University of Science and Technology). These students together with their 12 teachers and 60 HKUST UG student assistants stayed at UG Halls 1 and 2.
The program started on July 3 and was set to finish in the afternoon of July 6, 2009. One of the camp participants fell sick on July 4 and was sent home. The student did not have fever at the time and did not share a room with anyone. The staff of HKUST was informed during the evening of July 5 that the sick student had been confirmed positive for H1N1 human swine flu infection.
After evaluating the circumstances and in accordance with the contingency plan guideline EMTF has assembled, a decision was made by the program administration to end the camp early. In view of the late hour and the time needed to arrange for logistical services and notify all concerned parties, a decision was made to send the students back to the school in the early morning of July 6. In this case, no one was identified as "close contact" and CHP has not imposed any follow up action up to the time of this report.
A briefing session was conducted in the morning of July 6th for HKUST UG Student assistants who helped operate the camp. The purpose of the briefing was to answer questions the students may have, alert them of the current situation and provide them with general knowledge about H1N1. Facility cleaning was performed to disinfect concerned locations.
Thanks to the concerned staff in the Dean of Science Office and the UG student assistants who took part in the program. The entire incident was managed effectively and the protocols were executed efficiently.