2 Filipinas with coronavirus variant among 11 new infections

By Vir B. Lumicao

The 3 FDHs were found infected while in quarantine at various hotels

Three foreign domestic helpers, comprising two Filipinas with the highly infectious N501Y variant and one Indonesian woman, were among 11 coronavirus cases that were confirmed by Hong Kong health authorities today, Mar 5.

The new cases took the total tally of confirmed infections in Hong Kong to 11,067.

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The first Filipina, aged 29, arrived from Manila on Feb 19 and tested negative upon arrival at the airport but developed symptoms four days later while in quarantine at Ramada Hong Kong Harbour View in Sai Ying Pun.

She was confirmed positive on Thursday after her second test, a spokesman for the Centre for Health Protection said.

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Another Filipina, 25, tested negative upon arrival in Hong Kong on Feb 20. She was asymptomatic but returned a positive result after her second test on the 12^th day of quarantine at Metropark Hotel Kowloon in Homantin.

The two brought to seven the number of new arrivals from the Philippines found to have the variant in the past 10 days.

The Indonesian helper, 45, arrived from Jakarta also on Feb 20 and was negative during the airport test. She stayed for her quarantine in Ramada Hong Kong Harbourview in North Point, where her second test was positive.

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Among the newly reported cases are four local with unknown sources while the remaining four were linked to previous infections.    

A 37-year-old Sri Lankan woman who was among 10 people reported as preliminary positive by Dr Chuang Shuk-kwan in the CHP’s press briefing yesterday was confirmed positive today.

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She was working as a part-time domestic helper in a village house in Clearwater Bay. The case, however, was considered as a local case with no known source of infection, a CHP spokesman said.

The first case with unknown sources was a 47-year-old man from Discovery Park, Tsuen Wan, who developed fever on Mar 1. His sample collected on Mar 3 tested positive.

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The patient is a clerk of the Labour Department at the Cheung Sha Wan Government Offices. He last went to work on Wednesday, the CHP said.

The second case with unknown sources was an 18-year-old male student from Hiu Fai House, Hiu Lai Court, Sau Mau Ping. He developed a headache and fever on Feb 22.

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His sample was collected on Mar 1 and tested positive yesterday. He did not return to school when face-to-face classes resumed on Monday.

A 48-year-old man who developed fever on Mar 1 was the third case with unknown sources. Sample collected from him on that day was confirmed positive yesterday.

Health officials said he is a clerical staff who lived in Kui Yan Court, Sai Ying Pun and last went to work on Feb 26.

A total of 235 cases have been recorded in the past 14 days from Feb 19 to Mar 4. They included 197 local cases, of which 66 had unknown sources.
    
The CHP said its epidemiological investigations and relevant contact tracing on the confirmed cases are ongoing.

The CHP reminded those who had visited specified venues under the Prevention and Control of Disease Regulation (Cap. 599J) to undergo nucleic acid testing as required in the compulsory testing notice. It urged the public to see a doctor if symptoms develop.

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Sri Lankan DH tests preliminary positive for Covid-19

By Daisy CL Mandap 

Chuang reported 9 new Covid-19 cases, and more than 10 preliminary positive ones

A Sri Lankan domestic worker was among around 10 preliminary positive cases of Covid-19 reported by the Centre for Health Protection today, Mar 4.

According to CHP’s Dr Chuang Shuk-wan, the 37-year-old woman works in a village house in Clearwater Bay along with another foreign domestic helper, but their employer is not in Hong Kong.

A staff member at CHP said following a phone enquiry that the FDH is from Sri Lanka.

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The infected FDH lives at Honour House in Yau Ma Tei, and her source of infection is unknown. If her test result is confirmed tomorrow, her fellow worker will be put under quarantine, said Chuang.

The 3 imported cases include a Filipina DH found to have the coronavirus variant

The other preliminary cases with unknown sources include an 18-year-old male student from Sau Mau Ping, a 48-year-old male clerk who lives in Sham Shui Po, and a 47-year-old male staff of the Labour Department in Cheung Sha Wan who visited a total of eight restaurants during the incubation period.

The CHP official said there were nine confirmed cases today, three of them imported. 

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They include a 29-year-old female FDH who flew in from the Philippines aboard a Cebu Pacific flight, and was also found to have the coronavirus variant.

She brought to 51 the total number of cases with the variant found in Hong Kong, said Chuang, who also said they are “a cause for concern.”

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The two other imported cases are a 32-year-old Indonesian DH and a 12-year-old boy from Pakistan, who both also tested positive at the airport.

Only one of the six local cases had an unknown source, a 69-year-old security guard who works at a building in Sham Shui Po and lives in Tin Shui Wai. Tenants in his office building and residents in his block will have to undergo compulsory testing.

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Among the linked cases is a second staff at the Cartier boutique in K11 Musea, who was found infected while in quarantine.

Chuang said it’s unclear if the two infections from the shop are related to the cluster of cases from Mr Ming’s Chinese restaurant in the same mall. There are now a total of 50 cases from that cluster: nine staff, 22 patrons and 19 close contacts.

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The linked cases also include two close contacts of a retired academic staff at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology who appeared to have picked up the virus from a friend who recently arrived from Shanghai and was allowed to skip quarantine.

According to Hospital Authority’s Dr Lau Ka-hin, a 78-year-old male patient at Princess Margaret Hospital with chronic diseases passed away earlier today at Princess Margaret Hospital from complications from Covid-19.

His death brought to 195 the total number of coronavirus-related fatalities in public hospitals in Hong Kong.

The total number of confirmed cases in Hong Kong has reached 11,056 as of today.

Among the 229 confirmed patients still being treated in public hospitals and two treatment facilities, 13 are in critical condition, 12 are seriously ill, while the remaining 197 are stable.

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Filipina DH loses job after being publicly harassed by ex-bf

By Vir B. Lumicao 

The helper's belongings strewn on a pavement after she was terminated on the spot

A 30-year-old Filipina domestic helper lost her job Wednesday after her former boyfriend whom she claimed to have been harassing her for nearly two years pounced on her at her ward’s kindergarten school in Tseung Kwan O.

The 39-year-old Indian man, who holds recognizance papers that prevent him being deported, caused such a commotion that the Filipina had to shout for help, and the school to call 999 for assistance.

Unfortunately for her, the school felt compelled to call her employers, who immediately rushed to the scene, and after talking with the police, decided to fire her on the spot.

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According to the Filipina, her former boyfriend had tried to grab her bag with her wallet and telephone, then harangued her afterwards on the schoolyard.

She said the man had been stalking her for nearly two years, alternately threatening her and creating fake accounts in her name on Facebook, and demanding money.

On the advice of people she recently consulted about her case, she stopped giving money to the man and responding to his messages through phone and her Facebook account.

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That appeared to have enraged the man that he decided to waylay her.

A police spokeswoman confirmed the incident at 9:50am at the kindergarten on Lohas Park Rd. But she said officers who responded to a 999 call from the school had released the man and logged the incident as a “financial dispute case.”

The spokeswoman said normally no arrest is made in dispute cases. That meant the man in question was able to walk free after questioning at the police station in Po Lam.

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The Filipina was supposed to be interviewed by the police in turn, after talking to the man and her male employer at the station.

However, after she was fired, her employers decided to take her immediately to the Labour Relations Division office in Kai Tak to settle their financial obligations to her.

They left her there afterwards, and staff at the office gave her until 6:30pm to clear her stuff and look for a place to stay.

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Luckily, a hostel in Kowloon had space, and agreed to take her in after The SUN interceded on her behalf.

The Filipina, who was emotional as she narrated the incident, said she had been repeatedly embarrassed by the man who had falsely accused her of embezzling $78,000 of his money, forcing his mango business to collapse.

But she said the man had concocted the tale after failing to get her to reconcile with him and continue subsidizing his needs. She said the man, being a torture claimant, had no money as he was not allowed to work while fighting deportation from Hong Kong.\

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All that he had given her during the brief time that they were together were worthless trinkets, said the helper. But he had allegedly been telling other people that she left him after accepting valuable gifts, and skimming money off him

The Filipina said that after she had recovered from her nightmarish experience, she would file a formal complaint against the man for stalking, blackmailing and smearing her and her 14-year-old daughter on Facebook.

Among the evidence she showed were photos of her daughter on a fake Facebook account allegedly created by her tormentor in which she was made to appear to be offering the girl for sex.

The helper said she met the Indian man on an online dating site, badoo, in March 2019. She was impressed because he introduced himself as a worker at Justice Centre Hong Kong and had a mango business with several shops across the city.

He also claimed he was a doctor’s son and was deputy chief of a firm called Biotechnical Medicine Lab, receiving a salary of $50,000 a month, she said.

Their friendship became intimate in July 2019. Soon, the man was allegedly badgering her about opening an account and taking out a loan at DBS Bank or Bank of East Asia. He also pestered her for a copy of her passport and Hong Kong ID but she refused.

The worker said she thought she had shaken off her tormentor when she moved to her employers in Lohas Park last August after finishing her contract with a family in Tin Shui Wai.

But the man was able to find her and had since been stalking and trying to get hold of her until the incident yesterday morning.

Since breaking off with the man, she said she had been blackmailed into giving him thousands of dollars, leaving her depressed and destitute.

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Heart attack likely killed patient who had Sinovac jab, experts say

By Daisy CL Mandap

The experts panel said there was no link between the Covid-19 jab and the man's death

A panel of experts says a 63-year-old man who died two days after taking the Sinovac vaccine likely had a fatal heart attack.

A co-convenor of the Expert Committee on Clinical Events Assessment of Covid-19 said they were unanimous in their view that the patient’s death on Sunday was not linked to his vaccination.

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“The expert panel takes a unanimous view that there is no direct link between the vaccination and the patient’s death,” Professor Ivan Hung told a press conference today, Mar. 3.

The panel held an emergency meeting earlier to assess the case, which emerged only on Tuesday night.

“The most likely cause of death is the patient’s coronary disease, leading to a heart attack and pulmonary edema, resulting in a deterioration of his breathing and then, death.”

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Hung said the experts reached this conclusion after going through the patient’s available records, including preliminary results of a post-mortem examination.

He noted that the deceased suffered from multiple and long-term illnesses, including high blood pressure, diabetes, high cholesterol, and suspected heart disease. He was also a heavy smoker.

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The post mortem reportedly showed the deceased had severe blockages in three coronary arteries, but a more detailed report will not be available for another week or two.

Hung said the patient had multiple long-term illnesses such as diabetes and suspected heart disease  

Hung said the vaccination program will continue, and urged all elderly people and others in high-risk groups to get vaccinated as soon as possible.

But he said those with underlying illnesses should first consult their doctors.

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His call came as online bookings for coronavirus jabs from Pfizer/BioNTech opened a few minutes after the indicated time of 9am, due to a slight glitch.

Most of those who managed to secure bookings over the next two weeks reported an easy time, with some saying it took only between 5 to 10 minutes to get a slot.

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The initial booking phase will run until Mar 28, but should quickly resume, as the second batch of about half a million doses of the US-German vaccine is expected to arrive in the next several days. A million doses of Sinovac arrived earlier.

Seven centers across Hong Kong – in Sai Ying Pun, Sai Wan Ho, Kowloon Tong, Kwun Tong, Lai Chi Kok, Yuen Long and Sheung Shui – will provide the BioNTech vaccine, which has a high efficacy rating of 95%.

Currently, only those in the priority groups, including residents aged 60 and above, frontline and health care workers, residents and staff in care homes, and cross-border transport workers and personnel, can book for the jabs.

Meanwhile, the Centre for Health Protection reported 14 new coronavirus cases, all of them locally acquired.

Eight are of unknown sources. They include a 23-year-old woman working in marketing, a 53-year-old dishwasher, a 34-year-old man who manages elderly care homes, a  53-year-old secretary, a salesperson, two housewives and a retiree.

The cases brought Hong Kong’s total pandemic toll to 11,046.

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Filipino HIV cases double while overall tally in HK dips

By Vir B. Lumicao

HIV cases among Filipinos nearly doubled last year

Filipino human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) cases in Hong Kong rose to 27 last year, almost twice as many as in 2019, a Department of Health spokesman said in response to a query from The SUN.

The surge was mainly due to the doubling of cases involving women, of which 16 were recorded last year.

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The trend ran counter to a significant drop in the total HIV cases in Hong Kong. The overall tally of 505 was significantly lower than the 565 cases recorded in 2019.

Among Filipinos, 21 cases were due to heterosexual contact while four arose from homosexual contact. The transmission route for two others is yet to be determined due to incomplete details from the notifications.

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The spokesman reminded the Filipinos to use condoms to protect themselves during sex.

“Sexual transmission remained the major route of HIV transmission among recorded Filipino cases. Using condoms consistently and properly can reduce the risk of acquiring HIV and other sexually transmitted infections,” he said. 

Filipino HIV cases in HK, 2020
Year	Male	Female	Total
2020	11	16	27
2019	6	8	14

The CHP also said that overall, the concentration of infection among male homosexuals or gays is alarming.  

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“Despite a decrease in the number of reports of HIV infection in recent years when compared to the peak in 2015, a concentrated epidemic among vulnerable groups, such as young men who have sex with men, warrants our sustained attention,” said Dr Ho Chi-hin, acting consultant at CHP.

Ho sounds out alarm on rise in HIV infections among gays

Of last year’s reported HIV cases that involved 418 men and 87 women, 272 got infected via homosexual or bisexual sex, 137 via heterosexual sex and two via drug injection. The transmission routes of 94 others have yet to be verified due to incomplete information. 

“Sexual transmission remained the major mode of HIV transmission. Members of the public should use condoms consistently and properly so as to reduce the risk of acquiring HIV,” said Ho.

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Ho spoke at a press conference held Monday to give an update on the HIV/AIDS (acquired immune deficiency syndrome) situation in Hong Kong.

“Members of the public with a history of unsafe sex should take an HIV antibody test early. They can call the DH’s AIDS Hotline (2780 2211) for a free, anonymous and confidential HIV test. HIV-positive people should seek specialist care as soon as possible,” Ho said.    

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He said the public may visit the DH’s Virtual AIDS Office (www.aids.gov.hk), the Red Ribbon Centre (www.rrc.gov.hk), the AIDS Hotline website (www.27802211.com) and the Gay Men HIV Information website (www.21171069.gov.hk) for more information. 

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Man dies 2 days after receiving Sinovac vaccine

By The SUN

The patient died at Queen Elizabeth Hospital on Sunday

A 63-year-old man is reported to have died at Queen Elizabeth Hospital on Sunday, two days after receiving the Sinovac Covid-19 vaccine at a government vaccination center in Jordan.

The Department of Health said in a statement posted late today, Mar 2, that it had just been informed of the death, but did not explain the delay.

A spokesman said officials immediately contacted the Hospital Authority to get more information about the death as part of their investigaton.

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But he stressed it was too early to say whether the man’s death was related to the vaccine that he received.

“At the moment, the causal relationship with the vaccine cannot be ascertained,” said the spokesman.

The patient was among the first to get the Sinovac jab on Friday

The statement said the patient was vaccinated at Kwun Chung Sports Centre on Friday last week, the first day of the citywide mass vaccination.

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On Sunday, he developed acute breathing difficulties and went on his own to Queen Elizabeth Hospital, where he died later that day.

Some media reports said the man suffered cardiac arrest shortly after being admitted and died after resuscitation attempts failed.

They also said the man suffered from chronic illnesses so hospital staff did immediately link his death to his having had a vaccine.

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A panel of experts on Covid-19 will reportedly look into the death and announce their findings later.

Earlier, authorities reported a separate case of a 72-year-old man who developed heart palpitations on Sunday, within 30 minutes of receiving the vaccine at the Central Library vaccination centre.

The man is said to be in hospital in stable condition.

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The news comes on the eve of the start of online bookings for receiving the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine, the first to be approved for use in Hong Kong, but delivered a week after the Sinovac shipment.

Officials say they expect thousands of people to register for the Pfizer/BioNTech inoculation, which will start on Mar 10.

CHP reported only 13 new Covid-19 cases today, 6 of them imported

Health officials today reported 13 new infections, six of which were imported cases.

Two patients flew in from Pakistan, one of whom was found to have the coronavirus variant. Indonesia and the United Arab Emirates each accounted for two of the other patients.

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More than 10 preliminary positive cases were reported, including nine whose sources of infection are unknown.

Among them is a 23-year-old woman who worked in sales at a fitness centre in Central, and had visited two bars cum restaurants in Lan Kwai Fong and Soho.

The confirmed cases included a retired academic at  the University of Science and Technology who may have contracted the virus from a 28-year-old man who was able to skip quarantine after arriving here from Shenzhen.

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