By Vir B. Lumicao
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| The Filipino seaman had his vaccination certificate from the Phl recognized in HK (File) |
A Filipino seaman who arrived from Manila and an Indonesian domestic who returned from Jakarta last Friday are among five new coronavirus cases reported today, Aug 22, all of them imported.
Four of the five patients were found to carry the L452R mutant strain of the coronavirus while the result for the fifth is still pending. They are all asymptomatic.
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The Filipino seaman may be among the first to fly in direct from Manila since Hong Kong lifted its travel ban from all high-risk countries including the Philippines, starting Aug 9.
The seafarer appears to be also among the first travelers to get his vaccination record from the Philippines recognized in Hong Kong.
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The Centre for Health Protection said in a press release that the Filipino seaman, aged 25, flew in direct from Manila via Philippine Airlines flight PR300. He received the full, single dose of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine in the Philippines on Aug. 13.
Previously, all sea crew from high-risk countries had to fly to a third country first before boarding a flight for Hong Kong, even if they are classified here as quarantine-exempt.
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Meanwhile, the 31-year-old Indonesian helper is on record as being the first to test positive for Covid-19 after flying in from Jakarta since the flight ban on Indonesia was lifted.
The Indonesian took a Cathay Pacific flight CX798 from Jakarta. She would not have had any problem getting her Sinovac jabs accepted for boarding as she got them in Hong Kong on Mar 23 and Apr 20 before going home for a break.
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She and the Filipino tested positive for Covid-19 on their arrival tests.
The three other cases involved a 9-month-old baby boy and two men, aged 56 and 19, who all arrived on Aug 18 from Dubai via Emirates flight EK 384.
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Staff at the Department of Health said the baby arrived with his father, mother and grandfather, and tested positive on his third day of quarantine at Ramada Grand hotel in Tsim Sha Tsui.
The older man, who had two Sinovac jabs in Hong Kong on Mar 20 and May 1, was confirmed positive on Day 3 of his quarantine at Dorsett Tsuen Wan Hotel. His blood sample tested positive for antibodies on Jul 12 in Hong Kong.
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The young man received two doses of BioNTech in the United Arab Emirates on Jul 7 and Jul 31. He tested positive also on Day 3 at Regal Airport Hotel in Chek Lap Kok.
The newly confirmed cases took Hong Kong’s total tally to 12,058.
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| Vaccine fragments contaminated a man's blood sample, causing it to test positive |
CHP also said in its statement that it has classified the case of a 32-year-old man who had tested preliminary positive as a non-Covid 19 infection as it appeared his specimen sample had been contaminated by fragments of an inactivated vaccine.
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On Aug 16, a man left a specimen with a private doctor in Aberdeen and it tested preliminary positive, but with a low viral load. After he was taken to a hospital, his test results showed he was negative for Covid-19 and positive for antibodies.
The CHP found that the doctor who took the man’s specimen had earlier provided Sinovac inoculation to four people in his clinic, which could have resulted in some residue contaminating the sample.
Genetic analysis of the patient’s specimen conducted by the University of Hong Kong Department of Microbiology also showed his sample was compatible with a Covid-19 vaccine.
The Hospital Authority said a total of 39 confirmed patients are now confined in nine public hospitals and the Infection Control Centre in North Lantau. One patient is in serious condition while the 38 others are stable.
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