Doctors said the rate of infection among colleagues had hit morale. Photo: Xinhua
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Health workers at Hong Mei House in Tsing Yi after two people in the block were confirmed to have contracted the coronavirus. Photo: Edmond SoHealth workers at Hong Mei House in Tsing Yi after two people in the block were confirmed to have contracted the coronavirus. Photo: Edmond So
Health workers at Hong Mei House in Tsing Yi after two people in the block were confirmed to have contracted the coronavirus. Photo: Edmond So
A Housing Department policy change has allowed tenants in government flats to alter the pipe design in their bathrooms since 2016, a problem which might have helped the faster spread of the deadly new coronavirus which led to an evacuation of a Tsing Yi housing block
on Tuesday, the Post has found.
Opened to residents in 1986, Hong Mei House is one of 13 blocks of flats on the Cheung Hong Estate. The 35-storey building is made up of 840 units in three wings, dubbed a Y2 design.
According to the original design of the bathroom, the toilet is located in the centre of the unit, with all outlets, including the waste pipe and vent pipe exposed and connected with the bowl.
Similar pipe designs can be found in 48 other public housing estates in the city.
A toilet inside a flat at Hong Mei House in Tsing Yi. Photo: Sam Tsang
A toilet inside a flat at Hong Mei House in Tsing Yi. Photo: Sam Tsang
On Tuesday the city’s 42nd case of coronavirus infection involved a 62-year-old woman who lives in flat 307, on the third floor of A wing in Hong Mei House. She was linked to an earlier confirmed case of a man, 75, who lived 10 floors above her in flat 1307.
Authorities evacuated more than 30 households that shared the same piping system with those two flats in the block.
The evacuation sparked worries over the sewage system designed for public housing estates in Hong Kong, with residents in other blocks living in fear and questioning whether they could be infected.
As of Tuesday night, Hong Kong had recorded 49 confirmed cases, including five from the Tsing Yi block.
While the government defended the sewage system design as legal and safe, housing minister Frank Chan Fan revealed an initial inspection found the vent pipe inside the toilet of the confirmed case on the third floor might have been “altered”.
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A picture posted by the government on social media on Tuesday afternoon showed the vent pipe inside the flat had been retrofitted and disconnected from the waste pipe.
“Some part of the connection was missing and the vent pipe had opened up the vent,” said Vincent Ho Kui-yip, former president of the Hong Kong Institute of Surveyors.
“The alteration could cause foul air to spread into the unit and is very dangerous.”
According to Ho, the waste and vent pipes have to be connected to one another for the proper function of toilets, but they were exposed and not covered in many of the older buildings, whereas for newer buildings, pipes might be installed in inner walls.
The vent pipe, that pulls out air and gas, would help to balance the pressure inside the drainage system, so water and sewage waste could move smoothly every time a toilet was flushed; whereas the gas would exhaust to an outside area, or from the roof through the pipe.
The incident in Tsing Yi sparked fears of a repeat of Amoy Gardens in 2003, when U-shaped water traps ran dry causing the Sars virus to spread rapidly. Photo: Martin Chan
The incident in Tsing Yi sparked fears of a repeat of Amoy Gardens in 2003, when U-shaped water traps ran dry causing the Sars virus to spread rapidly. Photo: Martin Chan
Tenants of public rental flats were not allowed to modify pipes inside the bathroom until the Housing Department released new guidelines in August 2016.
Fixtures such as a branch pipe or fitting were reclassified from an alteration that was not permitted, to one which required prior written application to the department.
It is believed the change of policy was due to the department having limited manpower to inspect unauthorised alterations.
Over 100 evacuated from Hong Kong housing estate after two coronavirus cases found in same block
The public investigation body, the Ombudsman, which carried out an investigation the following year, warned the policy change might pose a “potential hazard to tenants’ living environment”, such as causing water seepage or unstable structures.
It is unknown how many approvals have been given by the department since the new guidelines were issued. A Housing Department spokeswoman said it had no records of any application for modification in the Tsing Yi case, and they would contact the resident to follow up.
According to Ho, the best way to check whether one’s bathroom has problematic pipes was to hire a professional to carry out an inspection.
For a more economical method, he said: “Close all the toilet windows and door, then fill water into the toilet and basin to see if strong smells linger after some time.”