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| The virus first swept through Insomnia in Lan Kwai Fong |
Easily the biggest number of infections occurred in the
so-called bar cluster, which includes Insomnia in Lan Kwai Fong, Central; Dusk
till Dawn and Centre Stage in Wanchai; and All Night Long in Tsim Sha Tsui.
A rough tally based on figures supplied by the Centre for
Health Protection shows that no less than 50 of Hong Kong ’s
total cases of 1,030 were stricken in these bars.
They include at least 14 Filipinos, mostly members of a band
that played in all four venues, but also food servers and their family members.
The others are customers who visited one or two of the affected bars.
The list does not include 17 other Filipino patients, mostly
domestic workers who were either infected in their workplaces, or tested
positive after returning to Hong Kong from
overseas. Records at the Consulate show 8 of the patients have been discharged,
while 9 are still in hospital.
As of this writing, most of the Filipinos in the bar cluster
have been discharged. But the 29-year-old Filipino soloist of the band, the
first to test positive for the virus in the cluster and identified as Case No
276, is still in hospital.
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| Dusk till Dawn is one of the bars where the coronavirus spread |
Among those discharged are the soloist’s flatmates in Hang
Shun Mansions in Wanchai, just above Dusk till Dawn, identified as: Case No
384, 26 years old, female; No 386, (male, 48 years old); No 422 (31, male); No
432 (39, male); No 433 (47, male); No 434 (30, female); No 440 (40, male) and
No 501 (35, male).
A couple who played with the band and live together in
Mid-Levels have also been discharged. They’re Case Nos 386 (38, male) and 362
(36, female).
A number of food servers and staff at the bars have also
recovered and discharged, including a waiter in Insomnia who appears to be the
index patient in the cluster.
Case No 394, a 28-year-old male, reportedly started having
symptoms as early as Mar 10 but sought treatment only after the soloist was
diagnosed with the virus on Mar 23.
Also discharged were two Filipina waitresses: Case No 360, a
30-year-old server at Centre Stage; and Case No 453, 50 years old and female,
who works at Insomnia. However, two of their family members are still in
hospital: No 877 (39 years old, male) who’s related to 360; and No 930, the
16-year-old son of 453.
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| Notice of closure on the door of Centre Stage |
The infection appears more severe among the non-Filipino customers,
however. Those who remain in hospital include three who were among the first to fall ill after visiting the bars around mid-March: No 192 (46, female); No 275 (30,
male); 278 (28, male); and 284 (26, female).
Bar patrons who visited the blighted areas a week or so
later also appear to have been stricken more severely. They include Case No
411, a 38-year-old male pilot; Case No 428, a 22-year-old policewoman; and Case
No 458, 25-year-old female who works at Hyatt Hotel Kowloon.
After the bars, the biggest cluster is made up of newly
arrived students from abroad, who number 42 as of this writing. Cluster cases
were also recorded in the May Lun temple in North Point, the two karaokes in Causeway Bay
and Tsim Sha Tsui, hotpot dinners in North Point and Kwun Tong, a wedding
banquet in Discovery Bay , and a party venue in Aberdeen
