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| Many people were out and about today, including those in Victoria Park, despite 15 new Covid-19 cases being detected |
Two newly arrived Filipinos, a 41-year-old male seafarer and
a 25-year-old female domestic helper, were among 15 confirmed new novel
coronavirus patients that Hong Kong health
officials reported today, Aug 30.
The Filipinos were among five imported cases. The three
others are all returnees from India
They brought Hong Kong ’s total
number of confirmed Covid-19 cases to 4,802. The death toll rose to 88 after an
83-year-old woman passed away in Tuen
Mun Hospital
Dr Chuang Shuk-kwan from the Centre for Health Protection
said there were about 12 or so preliminarily positive cases.
Several Filipinos have tested positive on arrival here in
recent days despite presenting certificates of negative infection before
boarding their flights to Hong Kong from Manila
Among the local cases was a 31-year-old pregnant woman who
tested positive after being put in a general admission ward at Tuen Mun
Hospital
It was found out during an investigation that the woman, who
is 39 weeks pregnant, had declared she had a fever before she was admitted to
the hospital, and put in the general ward along with 10 other patients. She was
moved to an isolation ward after testing positive later that night.
Also among the local cases was a 29-year-old male officer
who is stationed in the Police Headquarters in Wanchai. He tested preliminarily
tested positive for Covid-19 after undergoing a test on Aug. 28, and was confirmed
to have the virus yesterday.
The other confirmed cases today were a nurse at Dr Tse
Kin-wah’s clinic where a nurse and a cleaner had been previously reported as
infected. Three residents at the Hong Chi hostel for the mentally handicapped
in Lei Muk Shue have also been confirmed, taking the total infections there to
11 residents and six staff.
The cases of unknown source include a part-time taxi driver,
a housewife suffering from chronic illness, a cleaner at the Pacific Place
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| HK says calls to boycott universal testing are misleading, while Beijing calls them 'vile' |
Meanwhile, the governments of both Hong Kong and Beijing
The call came as up to 400,000 people reportedly signed up
for the mass testing on the first two days of registration.
A number of pro-democracy groups, district councilors and
activists held a news conference earlier today to warn that the testing program
could do more harm than good. They said people who may gather at the testing
centres could lead to new clusters of infections breaking out.
They also claimed people who receive a negative-test result
could acquire a false sense of security, and spread the virus unknowingly
through increase social activities.
But a statement from the Hong Kong
government said such false messages are deliberate attempts to scare or mislead
people into opting out of being tested.
The statement reiterated assurances from health officials
that the universal testing is meant to identify asymptomatic carriers so the
silent transmission of the virus can be stopped.
“These acts run counter to the spirit of the community to
fight the disease together, and fall short of the expectations of the medical
personnel and a large number of frontline staff members who have been working
hard to fight the virus as well as enterprises and members of the public in
support of the program. The acts are extremely disappointing and regretful and
deserve the condemnation by the community," the statement said.
In a separate statement, the spokesperson of the central
government’s Hong Kong and Macau Affairs
Office said the campaign against universal testing was a “vile” attempt to
smear the mainland’s efforts to help the SAR to fight the spread of Covid-19.
It also said the call for the public to boycott the exercise
was a “disregard” for people’s safety and health.
