Filipina accused of refusing to give details of her variant infection released on bail

By Vir B. Lumicao 

Guadiz left court with reporters in hot pursuit

The Filipina girlfriend of an Indian man who was said to have set off an outbreak of the South African variant of coronavirus in Hong Kong was charged today, May 14, in Kowloon City Court with failing to give information to an authorized officer.

Victoria Marie Guadiz, 31, a clinic receptionist in Central, was accused before Magistrate Ada Yim of refusing to give information to health authorities about her movements on April 10 and 11.

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At her request, saying she was about to be fired from her job that paid her $26,000 a month because of the case, the magistrate allowed Guadiz to post bail of $2,000 until her next court appearance on May 31.

The Filipina looked calm as she stood in the dock, her face partly hidden by a face mask and a face shield, while dozens of reporters ogled and took note of her every movement.

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After the case was adjourned, most of the reporters waited for nearly two hours outside the court house, waiting for her to emerge. When she did, the reporters tried to besiege her, but she quickly ran away.

This was the defendant’s first appearance in court, as she was taken to hospital due to a fever last Monday, when she and her co-defendant, Indian engineer Syed Mohamed Rizvi, were scheduled to be charged.

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This time, health authorities had certified that she no longer posed a threat of transmitting a communicable disease.

The prosecution applied for the case to be adjourned so police can obtain CCTV footage from shops and hotel records on the days Guadiz and Rizvi visited various places after his release from quarantine.

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Both defendants will face an additional charge during their next court appearance on May 31, the prosecutor said.

In a hearing last Monday, the prosecution said Rizvi would face an additional charge of lying to Immigration officers during an interview about their movements on the two days in April.

Guadiz said she is about to be fired from her job at a clinic in The Centrium

Rizvi told the investigators initially that he and Guadiz only walked around Jordan and Tsim Sha Tsui, then visited Cheung Chau. He did not mention other places they visited, like Tung Chung and Discovery Bay; and of having attended a gathering in Chai Wan.

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As a result of Guadiz’s refusal to give information to the officers, about 1,000 had to go to a 21-day compulsory quarantine and delayed the government efforts to control the pandemic, the prosecutor said.

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As with Rizvi,  the prosecutor had opposed bail for the Filipina, citing the seriousness of the case and the possibility that she would abscond, despite being a Hong Kong permanent resident.

Filipina vaccine patient 'had hypertension, seizure history'

By Daisy Mandap 

Gemalyn Gabon is still in intensive care at Princess Margaret Hospital

A 31-year-old Filipina domestic workers remains in intensive care at Princess Margaret Hospital, two days after she fainted within minutes of taking her second dose of the BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine at Lai Chi Kok Park.

Hospital Authority staff said Gemalyn L. Gabon remained in critical condition today, May 14, but Welfare Office Virsie B. Tamayao of the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration said the patient was just heavily sedated and not unconscious. 

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Tamayao, who visited Gabon at the hospital last night, said the attending doctor did a CT scan that showed the patient had no brain injury. But she continued having seizures so she was given medicines that made her drowsy and put her "in a deep sleep."

“The doctor said her (Gabon’s) blood pressure is high, but not too much,” said Tamayao.

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But when she checked Gabon’s medical history, the doctor reportedly found out that that the Filipina became hypertensive last year that she had to be confined at Queen Elizabeth Hospital.

Gabon’s sister also reportedly told the doctor that when the patient was young, she had epileptic seizures twice, but they had not recurred since.

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Asked if she thought the vaccination had caused Gabon’s seizures, the doctor reportedly said, “I don’t think so. I think it’s just a coincidence, given her past medical history.”

But the doctor told Tamayao that Gabon will be subjected to further tests, including an electroencephalogram to detect electrical activity in her brain and find out what was causing her seizures.

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However, she is said to have a good chance of recovery since a CT scan made earlier did not detect any brain injury. Neither does she have fever, which could indicate an infection.

Gabon arrived in Hong Kong only in January 2020 (photo from Facebook)

Gabon, a single mother of two and native of Gloria, Oriental Mindoro, had worked in Dubai, United Arab Emirates previously, but did not seem to suffer any medical problems. 

She arrived in Hong Kong in January 2020, and moved to a new employer after a year.

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Her current employer reportedly told Tamayao that the helper was very active and hardworking.

“Parang wala naman daw sakit,” (She didn't seem to be sick at all) Tamayao recalled the employer as saying. 

Although the employer did not require the worker to undergo medical examination before hiring her, she would have been certified as “fit to work” before leaving the Philippines just a year earlier.

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On being asked by the doctor, the employer said that after Gabon had her first dose of the vaccine, she vomited and complained of a headache that lasted for around two hours. However, she did not seek medical attention.

On Wednesday, at about 4:30pm, she collapsed in the holding area of the vaccination center, just a few minutes after she had her second jab. Fellow Filipinas at the scene could be overheard as saying that Gabon’s hands were shaking.

Late last night, the Hospital Authority posted a report on adverse events following vaccinations that happened within the day, including Gabon’s, whose symptoms were described as “convulsions.”

Of the six people who were taken to hospitals after vaccination on the same day, she was the only one who was admitted, and her condition was described as “critical.”

Two others were recorded as having convulsions, with one also losing consciousness; two complained of feeling dizzy, while one suffered from vertigo.

According to the report, about 25,700 people had received vaccination on the same day.

It also said that as background information, there were 49 cases of stroke or myocardial infarction that happened on the same day. All were admitted to either the intensive care unit, the acute stroke unit or the cardiac care unit of public hospitals.

“The state of new cases admitted to the wards concerned is provided as a cross reference to enhance fuller public understanding of cases of the kind recorded on vaccine recipients,” said the statement.

Filipina in variant cluster the lone local among 3 new Covid-19 patients

By Vir B. Lumicao 

The Indian patient reportedly got the variant from a Filipino who also stayed at Ramada TST

The girlfriend of a Filipino man who is found to be infected with the N501Y coronavirus variant today became the 10^th confirmed patient in a cluster outbreak that began with an Indian engineer from Dubai who tested positive for the South African strain.

As this developed, RTHK reported that an expert has revealed that the index patient in the cluster is not really the Indian man but a Filipino who stayed in a room next to his at Ramada Hong Kong Grand Hotel in Tsim Sha Tsui.

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The report quoted Dr Gilman Siu from Polytechnic University’s department of health technology and informatics as saying the latest genetic analysis by his team shows the virus carried by the Filipino was the “ancestor” of the transmission chain.

“We found that one mutation is missing in [the virus carried by] the Filipino young man, suggesting this virus should be the ‘ancestor’. When it’s transmitted to the Indian man, it developed one more mutation,” Siu said.

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The Indian returnee (case No. 11643) tested negative for the virus before he was released from a 21-day hotel quarantine. He went on to live with his Filipina girlfriend, a clinic receptionist in Central who rented a flat in Parkes Building on Jordan Road. 

Together, they attended a family gathering at the house of the Filipina’s mother in Chai Wan on Apr 13. Also present were today’s case, who is 40 years old, and the 42-year-old brother of the Filipina who was reported as infected yesterday.

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The two latter patients held another party in Sham Shui Po on Apr 18, and invited three Filipina domestic helpers who also caught the variant.

The Centre for Health Protection is still trying to find out the type of infection the Filipina (case No. 11816) carried, a CHP staff said. She added that the 42-year-old boyfriend (11815) was confirmed today to be an N501Y carrier.

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The two had earlier tested positive for immunoglobulin G, indicating a previous infection.

The 10^th patient in the cluster is the only local case among today’s three confirmed Covid-19 patients who included a man, aged 43, who arrived from France with a new variant of concern, or VOC, called L452R.

The third case is an Indonesian female helper, 35, who arrived on May 9 and was in quarantine at Ramada Hong Kong Grand in Tsim Sha Tsui when she tested positive for the regular Covid-19.

The man from France found with the newly identified variant stayed abroad for only 3 days

The first imported case, the man who arrived from France on May 9, resided at 29 Staunton St in Central, and got tested before he left for Paris on May 6.

When he returned to Hong Kong on May 9, he stayed at Regal Airport Hotel in Chek Lap Kok, for his quarantine. He developed fever on May 11 and was taken to Princess Margaret Hospital in Kwai Chung, where he was found to have the L452R variant.

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CHP has classified him as an imported case from France. Yet, out of caution, building on Staunton St where he had stayed during part of the incubation period was put under a compulsory testing notice today.

After the WHO classified the variant strain B.1.617 as the fourth variant of concern, the CHP said it will use L452R with immediate effect as the indicator of the new variant. The N501Y indicator was earlier used to refer to three earlier VOCs known as the B.1.1.7, B.1.351 and P.1 variants.

L452R cases will be managed in the same way as those that are N501Y positive, the CHP said.

The Hospital Authority said as of 9am today, 63 confirmed Covid-19 patients were being treated in 14 public hospitals and the infection control center at North Lantau Hospital. Two of these patients are in critical condition, one is serious and the remaining 60 are stable.

31-year-old Filipina DH in critical condition after vaccination

By Daisy CL Mandap

 

The patient was taken away from the vaccination centre by an ambulance

The Hospital Authority just confirmed tonight, May 13, that a 31-year-old Filipina domestic helper remains in hospital in critical condition, more than 24 hours after collapsing at at the vaccination center at Lai Chi Kok Park.

A staff member said he expects a report on the case to be made later this evening. He declined to give any more details, but said more information would be available shortly.

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According to the Hong Kong Police, a friend of the patient called them at 4:56pm yesterday to report that the patient had fainted at the vaccination center after getting a Covid-19 jab.

When the officers arrived, they found the patient unconscious and took her to Princess Margaret Hospital.

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Some Filipinos who were at the scene took pictures and a video footage of the patient being taken away, obviously in distress.

One could be heard calling out the name “Gemmalyn,” as the patient was being wheeled away. Another noticed that her hands were shaking as she was put onto a hospital bed.

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One of those who shared the video on Facebook reported that the patient just had her second dose of a vaccine, accompanied by the landlord in her boarding house, when she fainted.

A picture shared by one Filipina at the scene shows paramedics trying to revive the patient

One later reported, obviously wrongly, that the patient had died at 6:45pm after her BioNTech jab.

The latter Filipina domestic worker who claimed to live in the same boarding house said the patient had no existing illnesses.

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However, a report posted last night by the online news portal Dimsum Daily, said the woman “had a record of illnesses.”

Any adverse event that occurs within 14 days after vaccination and fulfills the criteria for reporting as AEFI (Adverse Events Following Immunizaton) is immediately reported to the public.

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The HA then makes a decision on whether to forward the case to the Experts Committee that makes an assessment of whether the adverse event is directly linked to vaccination.

The incident comes just one day after the Health Authority ruled out vaccination as the cause of death of another Filipina DH who collapsed at her employer’s home in Sai Kung, 18 days after receiving her first dose of the BioNTech vaccine.

The 44-year-old Filipina reportedly died of cardiac arrest after a rupture in her aorta.

 

 

 

 

Health Dept says Filipina died of aneurysm, not vaccine

By Daisy CL Mandap 

The initial autopsy on Anacleto showed she had cardiac arrest due to aneurysm

The Hong Kong Health Department has said that a preliminary autopsy has shown that Filipina domestic helper Jergrace T. Anacleto died on Sunday, May 9, from “ruptured dissecting aneurysm of aorta” and not from her vaccination.

In layman’s terms, aortic dissection happens when the inner layer of the aorta, the large blood vessel of the heart, tears, causing blood to surge and the aorta to separate. It is a serious heart condition and the main cause of cardiac arrest.

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Anacleto’s sudden death, which happened 18 days after she had a dose of the BioNTech vaccine, caused widespread fear among Filipinos in Hong Kong, now apparently unfounded, that her death was caused by her inoculation.

According to the DH’s emailed response to The SUN’s query yesterday, Anacleto’s death “did not fulfill the criteria for reporting as AEFI (Adverse Events Following Immunization), and no clinical evidence was provided to support the event was caused by vaccine.”

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“According to information, she had received a dose of Comirnaty (BioNTech) vaccine 18 days (April 21) prior to her death. There was no record that she complained of feeling unwell during observation at the vaccination centre,” said the DH reply.

Still, the case will reportedly be forwarded to a team of experts at the University of Hong Kong for further analysis.

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A police report said Anacleto, who was 44, collapsed in her employer’s house at No 8 Tai Mong Tsai Road in Saikung at about noon on Sunday, and was taken to Tseung Kwan O Hospital in a coma.

She was declared dead on arrival at the hospital.

One of her close friends said Anacleto, who hailed from Guimaras Provice, was a widow with a 21-year-old son.

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Her employer, Judith Bailey, has announced in a Facebook post that a memorial mass for Anacleto will be held at St Vincent Church in Hang Hau at 10am this coming Sunday, May 16.

Suspected adverse events are reported only if they happened within 14 days after the jab

In its response, the DH explained that Anacleto's death was not reported to the public because it did not fulfill the reporting criteria of AEFIs and did not happen within 14 days after vaccination.

When there are “obvious medical causes (such as clinical diagnosis and post-mortem evidence), health care professionals may consider the case not fulfilling the criteria for reporting as AEFIS, said the statement.

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It also cited figures from the Hospital Authority showing that from Apr 5 to May, 2021, the ratio of death among unvaccinated people was 53.1 cases out of 100,000 people. For those who had the vaccine the ratio was only 2.3 cases for every 100,000 people.

“The overall death rate is similar to that recorded in the past years. Based on the statistical analysis of the above figures, there is no evidence that vaccination increases the risk of death for recipients,” said the DH.

As of May 2, the Expert Committee that assesses adverse events after vaccination has ruled that seven deaths reported were not related to the patients having received vaccination.

It has issued preliminary rulings with the same finding in 21 other deaths which are still awaiting final autopsy reports. 

“The Expert Committee considered there is no unusual pattern identified so far, and will continue to closely monitor the relevant situation and collect data for assessment,” said the HA.

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Variant cluster grows to 9 while Filipina DH tests positive at end of quarantine

By Daisy CL Mandap

The sole imported case flew in a day before a flight ban on the Philippines took effect

Another confirmed case has been added to the cluster of infections linked to an Indian returnee from Dubai found to be carrying the South African variant of the coronavirus.

The 42-year-old man who was only one of two cases reported today, May 12, became the ninth person to be linked to the cluster, and served as the bridge to cross-infections that happened between two households.

However, tests to find out if he is also a carrier of the N501Y variant are still pending.

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The other one is a Filipina domestic helper who arrived via Cebu Pacific 5J272 on Apr 19, just a day before Hong Kong imposed a ban on all flights coming from the Philippines.

Staff at the Centre for Health Protection said the Filipina helper tested positive on May 11, which meant she was tested on the day she was due to end her 21-day hotel quarantine.

She was not found to carry the mutant virus.

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Meanwhile, the CHP staff confirmed that the only linked local case (No 11815) is the brother of the Indian man’s Filipina girlfriend, who also tested positive for the variant earlier.

A close contact of today’s case was reported yesterday as having tested positive for immunoglobulin G, indicating she had been recently infected with Covid-19. CHP said further tests on the antibody-carrying woman are still ongoing.

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A statement released by CHP said today’s case and his close contact had attended a family gathering on Apr 13 at the Hing Wah Estate flat in Chai Wan where the man’s mother lives. Also at the party was the Indian man (case no 11643) and his girlfriend (11672).

Fung Hing House in Chai Wan was evacuated after details of the family gathering emerged

“Case 11815 and his household contact subsequently attended another gathering at 37 Fuk Wing Street in Sham Shui Po on April 18, which was also attended by three cases involving the N501Y mutant strain confirmed earlier, i.e. cases 11773, 11793 and 11797,” said the statement.

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The three latter cases were the three Filipina domestic helpers living in various districts who were all found subsequently to carry the variant.

The cluster has now grown to include, not just the two index patients, but also the three Filipina helpers, the girlfriend’s mother and brother, and the employer and baby ward of one of the helpers.

The helpers’ cases, initially classified as from unknown sources, led to the evacuation and transfer to quarantine facilities of about 2,000 residents in the buildings where they lived.

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It also prompted the Hong Kong government to order all 370,000 FDHs in the city to get tested from May 1-9. A second round of testing is due to start on Saturday, May 15, and last until May 30.

All those who were released after investigations revealed the cases were linked, have been reminded that they will be subject to compulsory testing on days 3, 7, 12 and 19 after the announcement of the relevant confirmed cases.

They will also be required to undergo self-monitoring until the 21^st day.

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Filipina DH dies in hospital after getting Covid jab, but cause of death still unknown

By The SUN

Anacleto's death on Sunday came as a shock to many

A 44-year-old domestic worker collapsed on Sunday morning in her employer’s house in Saikung and was taken to Tseung Kwan O Hospital in a coma, but she was dead on arrival at the hospital, a police report said.

The police did not say what caused the sudden death of Jergrace Tabiano Anacleto, a native of San Lorenzo, Guimaras and the mother of a 21-year-old man.

A relative claims to have been told it was cardiac arrest, but this could not be independently confirmed.

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Her employer of five years, Jude Bailey, confirmed to The SUN that Anacleto had her first dose of a coronavirus vaccine on Apr 21, but could not say if this was connected to her death.

“Grace passed away suddenly on Sunday. The cause of her death was unknown and an autopsy was performed. No results as yet from the autopsy,” Bailey said.

When asked if Anacleto had an existing medical condition,  Bailey said she would not give out any more information “out of respect to her family.”

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An inquiry sent to Department of Health regarding the case has yet to be answered.

Anacleto's sister, Jinalyn Tabiano, made a distraught post on Facebook on Sunday, saying she lost her beloved sister "in the wink of an eye."  

She recalled that earlier that day, she and Anacleto had greeted each other "Happy Mother's Day" during which the deceased told her sister she was okay.

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Police said they received a report from the employer at 11:57 am on Sunday, May 9, about Anacleto fainting in her room in Unit 1, No. 8 Tai Mong Tsai Road, Sai Kung.

Officers arrived at the scene and sent Anacleto to the hospital for treatment, where she was later certified dead, the police said.

The death was first reported to the Consulate on Monday by Anacleto’s friend, Rosalie Mondejar, said Consul Paul Saret, head of the assistance to nationals section.

The Hong Kong Police also reported the incident to the Consulate on the same day.

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Yesterday, Bailey, a British national, visited the Consulate to report the demise of Anacleto to ATN and the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration, said Saret.

Anacleto’s family in the Philippines also reported the case to the Department of Foreign Affairs regional office in Iloilo City, which relayed the information to the Consulate.

Bailey’s Facebook post that was shared by Anacleto’s friends and family members said a holy mass in her memory will be held at St Vincent Church in Hang Hau at 10am this Sunday.

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The death caused a stir in the community when a fellow Filipina domestic worker blamed it directly on Anacleto’s Covid jab 18 days earlier, and called on the media and the Consulate to make it known to the public and the Hong Kong government.

However, the netizen then falsely claimed that Anacleto was the one reported earlier in the Facebook page of Domestic Workers’ Corner as having suffered from spasms after taking her second vaccine jab and was being treated at Queen Elizabeth Hospital.

DWC administrator Rain Tuando who posted the story about the earlier patient, Racel B., blasted at the claim, saying it was fake news.

Another Filipina DH seen at Queen Elizabeth Hospital suffered post-vaccination spasms

“Buhay pa si Racel, pinatay na,” Tuando said angrily. “Nakakainis kasi ang dami ng nag inbox sa akin dahil na screen shot nya post ko sa DWC para magkalat ng tsismis.” (She killed Racel, who is still very much alive. I am peeved because a lot of people have been sending me messages after she took a screen shot of my post in DWC’s page and used it.

In a brief conversation with The SUN that Tuando facilitated, Racel confirmed that she suffered several bouts of muscular rigidity, and each time, an ambulance had fetched her and taken her to Queen Elizabeth.

But all she was given each time was just a muscle relaxant, said Racel, who said medical staff also told her she was just scared of the vaccine, which she denied.

Racel also said she suffered from general malaise at first that her employers told her to rest for a day. However, she said that apart from the spasms she was fine and functional.

In its public bulletin on the reported cases of adverse effects resulting from coronavirus vaccination posted on May 10, the Health Department said there were only seven ambulance transfers related to vaccination.

“In the last 24 hours ending at 0:00am today, there were seven cases of ambulance transfers to hospitals. Among them, four persons were discharged, one person was admitted for observation and two persons were discharged against medical advice,” said the bulletin.

As background information, it said there were 46 cases of stroke or myocardial infarction reported within the same period, which required admission to intensive care, acute stroke or cardiac care units of public hospitals.

The last bulletin on post-vaccination deaths was issued by the Department on May 8. As of 4pm that day, the statement said the Hospital Authority reported two death cases as “suspected serious adverse events with history of Covid-19 vaccination within 14 days”.

So far, the Expert Committe that advises the government on its vaccination program has ruled that no deaths could be attributed directly to a Covid vaccine.

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