By
Daisy CL Mandap
The 5 recently arrived Filipina DHs all had the coronavirus variant |
Five Filipina domestic helpers who arrived on two
separate dates this month were among the 8 new cases of Covid-19 infections reported
today, Mar 29.
Seven of the cases were all imported, while one was a
local case, a 22-year-old male student at Baptist University whose source of
infection is unknown. About 50 of his close contacts were put under quarantine.
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Between 3 and 5 preliminary positive cases have been
recorded, and most are said to be imported.
According to Dr Chuang Shuk-kwan of the Centre for
Health Protection, one of the infected Filipinas, a 32-year-old who flew in aboard
Cebu Pacific flight 5J 272, tested positive on arrival on Mar 27.
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The four others, two aged 29, another 35, and the
other 44, all arrived on Mar 12 and tested positive on their 12th
day in hotel quarantine. One came via Philippine Airlines flight PR 300 while
the three others also took 5J 272.
All of them were found to have the highly infectious
coronavirus strain, identified as N501Y.
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Another new arrival, a 39-year-old male crew from
Turkey, also carried the variant.
The only imported case without the variant was a
28-year-old man who arrived from the United States on Mar 20 and tested
positive while in hotel quarantine.
A cubicle at North Lantau hospital similar to where the variant carrier was mistakenly put |
Meanwhile, Dr
Linda Yu from the Hospital Authority said the Hong Kong Infection Control
Centre of the North Lantau Hospital is reviewing admission procedures after a
45-year-old woman found to have the variant was put in a cubicle along with
four other patients.
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The woman, who appears to be one of the Filipina
domestic workers who tested positive on Mar 26 while in quarantine, was
mistakenly put in the cubicle pending the outcome of the gene sequencing test
on her, which eventually showed she had the variant.
Those with the variant, which is known to be highly
infectious, are put in isolation rooms until they test negative for the virus, said
Yu.
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She said all the other four patients were immediately
tested and three were cleared of the virus mutation. The fourth patient had
such a low viral load that the test result was inconclusive.
“We have apologized to the other patients,” said Yu,
adding that “during the process there must have been miscommunication.”
Tunghayan ang isa na namang kwentong Dream Love |
She said internal communication will be reviewed,
along with the flow chart for admitting patients into the centre.
40 people from Baptist U were put under quarantine after a student was found infected |
As to the lone local case, Chuang said 40 people who
came into contact with him at the Baptist University campus will be put under
quarantine. Those who were in three buildings he visited during the incubation
period will be asked to go for testing.
The student last attended classes on Monday and
developed a runny nose on Thursday, Mar 25. He tested positive for coronavirus
the next day.
But earlier that day, he taught football to some kids
at Victoria Park. Three other coaches and 12 children who played with him have
been put under quarantine.
Another of his close contacts was his friend with whom
he played badminton on Mar 25 at the Siu Sai Wan community complex.
On the same day, he tutored a student at his home in
Westlands Garden in Quarry Bay. The student and his family will also be taken
to a quarantine centre.
Though his case has been classified as untraceable,
the patient is said to live in a residential block in Chai Wan where previous
infections had been detected.
Hong Kong’s total tally is now 11,455 with 136
patients still receiving treatment in 22 public hospitals and the treatment
facility in North Lantau. Among them, 10 are in critical condition, four are
serious while 122 are stable.
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