Filipino domestic worker among 7 new COVID-19 cases

October 11, 2020

Map of buildings with confirmed coronavirus infections in the last 14 days. (SCREENSHOT: chp.gov.hk)

Hong Kong health authorities confirmed seven new cases of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) on Sunday, including a newly-arrived Filipino domestic worker.

The 43-year-old Filipina arrived in Hong Kong on Oct. 9 via Philippine Airlines flight PR300. She tested positive upon arrival, a spokesperson for the Department of Health said.

The Filipina is among the three imported cases. The two others came from the Netherlands and Nepal.

Two other cases were linked to residential care home The Home of Treasure in Kwai Chung, bringing the number of COVID-19 infections in the cluster to 15. Both males aged 52 manifested symptoms on Oct. 9.

Hong Kong has reported 5,183 cases of coronavirus infection to date, and 105 deaths related to COVID-19.

This comes as reports cite a leading microbiologist projecting that more than 10,000 residents of the city may get infected and 1,000 could die from COVID-19 complications should high-risk areas fail to implement social distancing measures.

Hong Kong set up temporary testing centers in four districts in response to the recent outbreak clusters including The Home of Treasure, The Royal Garden Hotel, and the China Secret bar in Tsim Sha Tsui.

As of Oct. 11, 1,844 specimens from individuals in Hong Kong have been collected, and 518 specimens have been tested.