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| About 30 Indonesian workers and their employers could be close contacts of the infected helper |
An Indonesian domestic worker who stayed in a boarding house
with 28 other helpers as well as an employment agency office was among the 85
new Covid-19 cases reported today, Aug. 5.
Her case has sparked concern that a new cluster of cases might
emerge from among the many people she had been in contact with, two weeks since
she left her former employer’s home.
Also among the new cases is a Filipina domestic worker who
tested positive on the10th day of her quarantine, indicating she had a negative
test result on her arrival in Hong Kong, and in a required pre-boarding testing
before she left Manila
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According to Dr Chuang Shuk-kwan of the Centre for Health Protection,
the Indonesian helper, identified as case no 3664, left her former employer’s
home on Jul 20. Between Jul 22 and 23, she moved to a boarding house in
Wanchai, where 28 other FDWs were staying.
The shelter, located at 375 Lockhart Road
On Jul 23, she hung out in a unit at 48 Yee Wo Street in Causeway
Bay (reportedly owned by Bandung Enterprises Employment Agency) while looking
for a new employer. She developed symptoms on Aug 1 and was confirmed positive
for Covid-19 yesterday.
“Her former employer has been found, and will be tested,”
said Dr Chuang.
All four helpers who lived in the unit with her between Jul
30 and 31, along with the agency’s staff, have been traced, and put under
quarantine.
However, all the 28 FDWs who had stayed at the first boarding
house with the patient have all left to live with their respective employers,
so it is taking time to locate them, said Chuang.
She also said that because two weeks had passed since the patient
started staying in the dormitory, it would be difficult to find out where the
infection might have started.
“So we are very worried because we have not found the source
of the infection yet,” Chuang said.
She called on the workers and their employers with links to
the case to step forward for testing and isolation.
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The case also sparked concern among those living in, and
managing shelters or temporary lodging for FDWs.
Edwina Antonio, executive director of Bethune House Migrant
Women’s Refuge, said the surge in infections has made running the shelter even
more difficult. The new positive case has made it even more urgent to adopt
stringent intake measures.
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| Antonio (left) says Bethune House is taking extra care amid the recent surge in Covid-19 cases |
“Kahit ang Bethune
House ay maingat sa pag-admit ng mga bagong clients dahil malaki ang magiging
epekto nito (infection) sa operations and services,” she said. “Kaya sa ngayon, hindi pwedeng lumabas ang
mga residents unless case-related, at wala ding outside activities o visits
mula sa ibang tao.”
(Even Bethune House is being very cautious in admitting new
clients because an infection could have a severe impact on operations and
services. So for now, our residents are not allowed to go out unless for
case-related matters, and we also don’t conduct
outside activities or allow visits from other people).
Apart from the Filipina helper who was found infected while
in quarantine, two other imported cases were reported. One involved a returnee
from the United States , and
another who flew in from Kazakhstan
via Turkey
There was another case of a patient who flew in from Taiwan , then tried to switch hotels before
attempting to leave Hong Kong while under
quarantine.
He was intercepted at the border and moved to a quarantine
centre where he tested positive yesterday. Chuang said they were still looking
into whether the case should be classified as imported or local.
Another cause for concern is the growing number of cases
linked to a direct marketing company operating out of a basement office in Kowloon
Six new cases were recorded today, and all the patients were
at the company’s training held at the Royal Plaza Hotel in Mong Kok on Jul 31.
Chuang said that so far, around 45 cases have been linked to
this cluster.
Five other cases were linked to the King Fok elderly home in
Sham Shui Po. Four are staff of the home, while one is a resident.
Dr Lau Ka-hin of the Hospital Authority said two more
patients, both of them elderly, passed away in the past 24 hours, raising the
death toll to 43.
A male patient aged 82 passed away last night, while another
86-year-old man died at 3:16pm today in Tuen Mun Hospital
Another death could be added if a 86-year-old patient who
passed away at North
District Hospital
Dr Lau said that as of 9am today, 1,223 confirmed patients
are in 19 public hospitals and the community quarantine facilities at Lei Yue
Mun and AsiaWorld-Expo. Forty-five are in critical condition, 3 are serious,
and 1,173 are in stable condition.
