Flight attendant from PH tests positive for COVID-19 in HK

Dr. Chuang Shuk Kwan from the Centre for Health Protection

The Centre for Health Protection said that a 28-year-old flight attendant who flew in from the Philippines tested positive for the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) on July 30.

The flight attendant was onboard flight ET644, which arrived in Hong Kong on July 28.

ET644 landed at the special administrative region a day before tighter health restrictions for air crew and sea crew going to Hong Kong took effect.

Under the new regulations, air crew and sea crew must first obtain a negative result of a nucleic acid test for COVID-19 within 48 hours before boarding from a laboratory recognized by their respective government. If this could not be done, they must take the said test at the Temporary Specimen Collection Centre (TSCC) of the Department of Health (DH) upon arrival at the Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA) and wait for the test results.

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The measures were introduced after Hong Kong saw a triple-digit increase in daily confirmed cases, which experts said were caused by the exemption of “essential personnel” such as air crew and sea crew from the mandatory 14-day quarantine arrangement.

Hong Kong made such exemption in February then required air crew to undergo quarantine at home or hotels in March, though they can still be called to work while supposedly under isolation. Sea crew change was also allowed up until July 29.

There are 3,151 confirmed COVID-19 cases in Hong Kong as of July 30 and 25 related deaths.