By The SUN
Government doctors say the new malaria patients all recently arrived from Africa |
Health officials say 30 more people who had flown in from Africa recently have tested preliminary positive for malaria, and are now undergoing treatment at public hospitals.
They took to 58 the number of
people who are being treated in hospitals for the mosquito-borne disease after
recently arriving in Hong Kong, en route to the mainland. They comprise 56 men
and 2 women aged between 25 and 56 years old.
Dr Chuang Shuk-kwan of the
Centre for Health Protection said one of the patients is critically ill and is
intensive care, while two others are in serious condition. The rest are stable.
PINDUTIN PARA SA DETALYE |
Two others died earlier, one in
a quarantine hotel and the other, after being taken to hospital in poor
condition.
“Our medical team is closely
monitoring their condition,” she said.
Chuang added the patients
were among 120 people who all arrived on the same flight from Africa yesterday,
along with about 90 others who were in quarantine hotels.
PINDUTIN PARA SA DETALYE |
Those found infected had
worked for the same company in Guinea and were on their way back home on the
mainland.
Some of those who arrived
earlier had already left Hong Kong after completing the seven-day mandatory hotel
quarantine.
Chuang said about 200 more
people from Africa are headed to Hong Kong in the next few days.
She said health authorities
will be focusing on testing arrivals from Guinea as there has been no word
about a ban being imposed on travelers coming from the African country.
But she said there is no
cause for alarm as malaria is not transmitted through air or the respiratory
tracts like the coronavirus.
“The disease is transmitted
through a vector, that is mosquitoes. There are no mosquitoes in urban areas of
Hong Kong that would transmit malaria, so the risk of transmission in the
community is very low," Chuang said.
Press for details |
Despite this, Dr Lau Ka-hin
of the Hospital Authority said the mosquito alert index has been raised to the
highest level, since there are other mosquito-borne diseases like dengue fever.
This means various government
organizations would reinforce anti-mosquito control like applying larvicidal
oil in stagnant water.
Separately, CHP reported 4,602 new Covid cases,
of which 280 were imported.
Tunghayan ang isa na namang kwentong Dream Love |
The countries from which more
than 10 confirmed cases had flown from are: United Kingdom, 26; United States,
32; India, 19; Singapore, 17; Philippines, 16; Thailand, 15; Canada and Japan,
12.
Four more patients with Covid have died,
aged 72 to 93. One received no vaccination while the three others were fully
jabbed. They took the death toll in the fifth wave to 9,322.
One of the patients, a 72-year-old man, had
received four doses. He fainted at home yesterday and was rushed to hospital
where tests showed his heart had stopped beating. Attempts at resuscitation
failed.
At the mortuary, a rapid antigen test
showed the patient had Covid-19.
Lau again advised people who live with
elderly family members to test them once they start showing discomfort, or take
them to a doctor immediately for medical consultation.
A total of 1,467 coronavirus patients are
currently receiving treatment in various public hospitals, including 147 who
were newly diagnosed.
Among them, 28 are in critical condition,
including seven who are in intensive care; and 16 are in serious condition.
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