CHP tracing 10 contacts of Filipina helper with COVID-19

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Dr. Chuang Shuk-kwan, head of the communicable disease branch of the Centre for Health Protection

The Centre for Health Protection said they are now looking for 10 people who have come into contact with the Filipina domestic helper who tested positive for novel coronavirus (COVID-19) on Feb.18.

Dr. Chuang Shuk-kwan, head of the communicable disease branch of the Centre for Health Protection said in a press conference on Feb. 18 that the Filipina domestic helper went out on Feb. 9 and met up with her friends.

“The helper had went out to a city hall outdoor area, met around 10 friends, stayed there with everyone wearing masks for around an hour, they did not have meal together, but we are trying to contact her friends to check,” she said.

Chuang said the domestic helper was not part of a dinner at North Point which her employer went to on Jan. 26. Her employer is the 52nd case of COVID-19 infection in Hong Kong, while four others who took part in the dinner have also tested positive for the virus.

Chuang said the 32-year-old domestic worker tested negative initially but a successive CT scan of her lungs showed that she was infected with COVID-19.

“Concerning the foreign maid, the first test was negative.  When the first specimen is taken, it’s quite sometime after the patient’s onset but it may also be due to the specimen taken,” she said.

“The specimen, when you take the specimen, you may not pick up the right amount of the virus, it is known, sometimes the test can be negative, that’s why the condition is very alert and we’ll do a re-test if the patient’s condition deteriorates,” she said.

She is the 61st person to be infected with COVID-19 Hong Kong.

The Philippine Consulate General said they have sent a team to the hospital to check on the domestic worker’s condition. She is currently confined at the Pamela Youde Nethersole Eastern hospital in Chai Wan.

“Rest assured that the Philippine government will render all necessary assistance to the Filipino national,” Consul General Raly Tejada said.