By Vir B. Lumicao
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| 7 of the FDWs tested positive at the airport, the last 19 days after arrival |
Eight newly arrived foreign domestic workers, two from the
Philippines and six from Indonesia, were among 53 new coronavirus cases
reported today, Jan. 31.
The two Filipinas, aged 31 and 40, as well as five of the Indonesians, aged between 31 and 43, all arrived in Hong Kong on Jan. 29. But the sixth Indonesian, aged 33, arrived on Jan 10 and tested positive on her 19th day of quarantine at iclub Hotel in Ma Tau Wai.
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A ninth imported case was a 32-year-old female returnee from Indonesia.
The latest cases brought the city’s total coronavirus tally to 10,453.
Dr Chuang Shuk-kwan from the Centre for Health Protection said that of the 44 local cases, 27 were linked to previous cases while the remaining 17 were untraceable.
Four of the local cases were construction workers were related to the airport’s third runway project, Chuang said.
This brought to about 15 confirmed cases from this cluster. Yesterday, health officials ordered all 3,000 or so workers at the site to undergo testing.
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Mandatory testing was also ordered today for residents of nine residential towers.
These include Kui Fat Bldg Tower One in Yuen Long and Heng Lok House at Heng Chui public estate in Tin Shui Wai. These two buildings had at least two unlinked cases each, accounting for eight patients today.
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| Residents of Gillies Mansion in Hung Hom are among those required to undergo testing |
The seven other buildings are located in designated areas in Yaumatei, Jordan, Shamshuipo and Hung Hom, meaning there was at least one infected unit in each of the blocks. They include 95 Reclamation St, Richview Mansion on Ferry St, 165-167 Temple St, Man Wai Bldg on Man Wai St, 258 Apliu St, Gillies Mansion on Cooke St and Po Yuen Mansion on Bulkeley St.
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Three Covid-19 deaths were reported during the past 24 hours. They include a man aged 83 passed who passed away at Alice Ho Miu Ling Nethersole Hospital in Taipo, another man aged 95 at United Christian Hospital in Kwuntong, and a woman aged 46 at Queen Elizabeth Hospital.
Dr Lau Ka-hin, chief manager at the Hospital Authority said the latest casualties brought to 176 the number of patients who succumbed to Covid-19 in public hospitals.
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There are 765 confirmed patients still being treated in 22 public hospitals and at the treatment facility at AsiaWorld-Expo, Lau said. Among them, 28 patients are in critical condition, 38 are in serious condition, and the remaining 699 patients are in stable condition.
Meanwhile, Chief Secretary Matthew Cheung said the government could run more mandatory testing schemes at varying scales in different districts.
He urged government departments to be flexible with manpower arrangements so civil servants could be mobilized quickly to help with the testing drives as Hong Kong aims for zero infections.
“Reaching zero infections is the government’s target. Based
on the situation in
In her own blog, Secretary for Food and Health, Prof Sophia Chan, said mandatory testing orders and lockdowns had been effective in finding hidden infections in the community.
Chan said lessons learned from the first three lockdowns would help authorities identify cases in a shorter period.
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