By Daisy CL Mandap
 |
| Residents of 230 units in Kornhill Garden were locked down before being sent to quarantine |
Hundreds of people living in Kornhill Garden in Quarry
Bay and Royalton in Pokfulam will be sent to quarantine after two Filipina DHs
were confirmed today, May 5, to carry the mutated strain of the coronavirus.
According to a statement released by the Centre for
Health Protection, a 46-year-old woman living in Kornhill Garden was found
positive for the N501Y variant after getting herself tested on May 3 in
compliance with a compulsory testing notice for FDHs.
Her 38-year-old friend who is also a FDH and lives in
Royalton, was subsequently found infected as well. They became the 4th and 5th Filipina DHs to have been found within Hong Kong with the dreaded variant.
The buildings where they live with their employers
were locked down since midnight last night, and all people living there were
subjected to compulsory testing, before being moved to a quarantine camp.
The CHP said the residents who will be quarantined for
21 days in a government facility live in 230 units of Block N2 of Kornhill
Garden and 30 units in Royalton.
The two are among six confirmed cases reported today.
Three are imported, and three are local cases, one of which is of unknown
source, pertaining to the FDH in Kornhill. The case of her friend who lives in Royalton has been
linked to her.
 |
| 30 flats in Royalton were also locked down overnight (RTHK photo) |
The third is the female employer of the Filipina DH living in Caribbean Coast in Tung Chung who was also found to be a variant carrier. Both the 36-year-old employer who teaches at a primary school in Tung Chung and her 10-month-old baby girl have also tested positive for the variant.
The three imported cases are all returnees from Nepal
who were found infected while under hotel quarantine.
The new cases drove up Hong Kong’s total Covid-19
tally to 11,797.
The CHP said investigations and contact tracing on the
newly confirmed cases are ongoing.
Meanwhile, all residents are urged to avoid going out
and having social contact, while the elderly should stay at home as far as
possible. All non-essential travel outside Hong Kong is also being discouraged.
For the latest updates on the epidemic situation,
visit the "Covid-19 Thematic Website" at www.coronavirus.gov.hk.
Access to information is also available via the WhatsApp Helpline run by the Office
of the Government Chief Information Officer at 9617 1823, or by clicking the
link wa.me/85296171823?text=hi.
