Coronavirus Hong Kong: infected residents trapped at home share fears, anger over prolonged wait for help
- Chief Executive Carrie Lam said on Tuesday that about 30,000 infected patients had been stuck at home as the city races to build isolation facilities
- One resident says ‘government is pushing us to hell’ after being told to continue waiting by health authorities
Hong Kong residents infected with Covid-19 and stuck in their homes for over two weeks have been left feeling anxious and frustrated by the government’s handling of rising case numbers.
Based on government statistics, the Post calculated that about 60,000 confirmed cases had been stuck at home as of Thursday.
Five untreated patients told the Post on Thursday that they had lost faith in the government during their prolonged wait for help from health authorities.
Lau Ling, a 27-year-old care worker at a nursing home, said on Thursday that she was still waiting at home for further instructions from health authorities, two weeks after she tested positive for Covid-19 on February 8.
“The government is pushing us to hell,” she said, adding she had been told twice to wait for health authorities to respond after dialling emergency hotlines several times over the past few days.
The difficulty of self-isolating in a 300 sq ft home in Tsuen Wan had resulted in Lau’s daughter, sister and their domestic helper becoming sick just two days after the 27-year-old’s infection was confirmed.
Lau said the government should prioritise treatment of existing coronavirus patients rather than focusing on detecting other cases.
The Hong Kong government announced on Tuesday that they would increase the number of isolation units at designated quarantine centres from 5,000 to 12,000 during late February.
As of Thursday, the city’s daily infections broke a record with 8,798 coronavirus cases, taking the tally to 84,046 and 460 related deaths.
A 60-year-old private driver named Peter, who lives alone in a hostel provided by a grassroots support group, said he had sneaked out for food after his infection last Wednesday.
“I don’t want to infect food delivery workers or any of my friends,” said Peter, who only gave his first name.
Since becoming infected on February 16, he has continued to dial different emergency government hotlines, but was always told to “wait for further instructions from the Health Department.”
Peter was finally contacted by health authorities on Thursday, who told him he would be sent to a quarantine centre the next day.
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Mary, a 35-year-old foreign domestic worker, had been staying at a shelter provided by the local charity HELP for Domestic Workers since last Thursday after testing positive for Covid-19 during a preflight screening the day before.
Before being admitted to the shelter, Mary struggled to find a place to self-isolate after her employment was terminated earlier this month and was forced to sleep on the streets for one night.
“The weather was so cold, and I was scared, I really didn’t know what to do,” said Mary, who only provided her first name.
The charity for domestic workers said it had received 70 phone calls for help from domestic workers, including at least 30 requests from Covid-19 patients for shelter spaces to self-isolate.
“They have no certainty on the future,” said Avril Rodrigues, the charity’s head of communications.
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But even patients able to isolate at home were finding it difficult to prevent other family members from getting infected.
Kwan Chi-lam, a 21-year-old shop assistant, was infected with Covid-19 only two days after her 50-year-old mother was confirmed by the Health Department on February 16.
Over the past two weeks, four of Kwan’s family members and their domestic helper tested positive after they isolated themselves at their home in Kwun Tong.
The family is still waiting to be sent to a quarantine facility, while Kwan has been trying to use Chinese medicine for self-treatment.
“We listened to the government and got vaccinated, but how did they treat us in return?” she asked.
Abdel, a 31-year-old logistics worker, who only gave his first name, said he was infected on February 2 and had self-isolated for 10 days before he was sent to the Penny’s Bay quarantine camp last Saturday.
Despite being released four days later after testing negative, Abdel had tried to escape Penny’s Bay by climbing a nearby mountain and was subsequently caught by police.
“I had many injuries in my face and hands [from climbing the mountain], it’s terrible. I am not a criminal, I am human,” he said. “My mistake was just that I trust the government.”
Breaching a compulsory quarantine order is a criminal offence, punishable with a maximum fine of HK$25,000 and up to six months imprisonment.
