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| Worst is over for the Filipino community in HK, as only 1 Filipino still in hospital, says Consulate |
Only one Filipino infected with Covid-19 is still in hospital
in Hong Kong as of today, May 11, according to
Consul General Raly Tejada.
“Isa na lang talaga,” Congen Tejada said. That means that 18 other infected Filipinos
reported by Hong Kong ’s Health Department to
the Consulate up until Mar 27 have been discharged after recovering.
Congen Tejada made his statement as no new case was again
reported in Hong Kong , leaving the total tally
for confirmed cases at 1,048, with one suspected case. Of these, 982 have been
discharged from hospitals, leaving only 56 patients still confined.
Yesterday, three cases were recorded, all involving newly
arrived residents. Two flew in from Pakistan ,
and the other from the United
Kingdom
There has been no local case for the 22nd
straight day, raising hopes that there will be a further relaxation of social
distancing rules.
However, the Centre for Health Protection said in a
statement today that it is investigating the case of a 70-year-old female
resident who returned to Hong Kong on Sunday.
The patient’s saliva sample turned a positive result so she
was taken directly to hospital from Hong
Kong International Airport
When asked, the patient said she had already tested positive
in Britain , which means her
case would have been recorded there so Hong Kong
need not include her in its list. The CHP said it has contacted the British
health authority to get more information about the case.
Meanwhile, CHP’s records show at least two other Filipinas
who recently returned from abroad, one from London
and the other, from Manila
The first, a 32-year-old domestic helper, flew in from London
The other arrived from Manila
Another confirmed case, a 29-year-old male student in the Philippines who tested positive on Apr 18, one
day after arriving from Manila
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| Some patients in the 'bar cluster', including Filipino musicians and family members, are still in hospital |
However, the records also at least three other Filipinos, mostly
musicians included in the so-called bar cluster are still in hospital, where they have been
confined for more than a month. They are all males, aged 33, 39 and 44, and
were admitted to hospital on Apr 3, 5, and 6, respectively.
Also still confined is the 16-year-old son of a Filipina
waitress at Insomnia bar, who was moved from a quarantine center to the
hospital after testing positive on Apr 7.
Asked why the Consulate appears not to have been alerted about their cases, Congen Tejada said, "We just rely on what are reported to us are Filipinos. The others are probably Hong Kong passport holders."
The CHP has been testing mostly newly arrived residents at
the airport and are made to wait for their results before being allowed to
leave. If they test positive, they are taken straight to a hospital; otherwise
they are sent home to self-quarantine for 14 days.
The rules have been changed recently with residents
returning in large numbers from “areas of unknown epidemic situation” like Pakistan , India ,
Bangladesh , Nepal and South Africa
The Health Department has ordered that said returnees be
taken straight to quarantine centers for a 14-day compulsory quarantine period
after collecting their deep throat saliva samples at AsiaWorld-Expo testing
center.
