Coronavirus: why Hongkongers recovering from Covid-19 at home feel helpless and frustrated
- ‘The thing that scared me the most was not my symptoms, but the inconvenience that it caused,’ says one woman who recovered at home
- Unanswered hotlines and undelivered supplies were among the complaints shared by many of those told to undergo home isolation after testing positive for the coronavirus
Covid-19 patients with mild symptoms who recovered at home have said the experience left them feeling helpless and frustrated, with many blaming Hong Kong authorities’ unresponsiveness and lack of support.
While Hong Kong theoretically requires Covid-19 patients to recover either in hospital or a designated government facility, a crush of more than 200,000 confirmed cases over the last two months has overwhelmed the system, leaving authorities little choice but to allow tens of thousands to isolate at home instead.
According to the Centre for Health Protection, Covid-19 patients isolating at home are to be provided with an electronic wristband to track their movements, an anti-epidemic kit and infection-related advice.
But Kirby*, a 42-year-old housewife, felt as though she, her three family members and her domestic helper were hung out to dry after developing mild symptoms such as fever, coughing and sore throat in mid-February.
The household’s wristbands and test kits only arrived after they tested negative on February 22, and Kirby was not even able to successfully call the hotline to cancel the electronic trackers as instructed.
“All the numbers are not working. Even when I wanted to find someone to get me food supplies – nothing,” she said.
Despite being unvaccinated due to a medical condition, Kirby was the only asymptomatic person in the house, and had to take care of her 11-year-old son, 16-year-old daughter and their 82-year-old grandmother.
“I’m not vaccinated, that’s why I’m really scared. It’s really traumatising,” she said.
She added that not knowing whether they would be sent to government-run facilities had exacerbated her anxiety.
According to a calculation by the Post, more than 60,000 Covid-19 patients were still in line for either an isolation spot or hospital bed as of Saturday.
To cope with the surge in coronavirus cases, the Hospital Authority has said that it would hire more temporary nurses and nursing students to support its designated hotline, 1836115, for those who have tested positive and were awaiting admission.
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Kan*, 24, and her boyfriend began experiencing symptoms on February 16. Though glad that she was not sent to an isolation facility, she said she felt lost at home, as the authorities only called once to tell her not to go out. She never received her wristbands or test kits.
Kan, who works in sales, said the official guidelines were so unclear that she and her boyfriend had to turn to an online forum for answers to questions such as where to get a medical certificate for sick leave.
The government has said it is working on a website where patients can upload their positive rapid antigen test results and obtain certificates for sick leave, and expects to launch it within a week.
“The thing that scared me the most was not my symptoms, but the inconvenience that it caused,” she said. “It was already exhausting to [look for all the information]. Not to mention, we were sick and unwell. We could not rest at all.”
Kan claimed that she and her boyfriend called a designated clinic for Covid-19 patients 1,000 times between them before they were able to make a booking for Tuesday. Both, however, had recovered on their own by the time the appointment rolled around, though they still went in to get their medical certificates.
The government has designated 14 clinics across the city to treat patients with mild coronavirus symptoms to take pressure off of public hospitals. Bookings have to be made by phone.
Health care worker Lau Ling, 27, spent 18 days recovering at home after she tested positive for the coronavirus on February 10.
Lau had wanted to enter an isolation facility to protect her elderly father and six-year-old daughter, but one only became available on February 18, two days after the rest of her family had already tested positive – and even then, she had no way of getting to it.
“They asked me where I went, as they had reserved a room for me at Penny’s Bay. But no one ever took us there. How was I supposed to go?” she recalled.
Lau described the home isolation experience as “agonising”, saying the general hotline for isolating patients went unanswered even after dozens of calls per day, while supplies such as medicine and food ran out.
“At first, food delivery service was not available so I asked my friend for help. What if I did not have friends or I lived alone?” she said.
She added that the Social Welfare Department sending her family food one day after she finally managed to reach the “Stay Home Safe” hotline was the “only satisfactory thing”.
But isolating at home has not proved to be a nightmare for everyone.
NGO worker Fung Ka-keung, 43, tested positive on February 27, and said he was recovering well, with his runny nose and sore throat fading on Tuesday.
Fung, who lives alone, said he had been able to take care of himself despite the symptoms.
“I did not call the government’s hotline, as I knew that the hotline could not be reached and my symptoms are mild. I had already prepared the food and medicine I needed beforehand in case I was infected,” he said.
“But of course, I am prepared for situations where I need to visit the designated clinic or hospital.”
Fung said home isolation was preferable to the alternative, and suggested the government allow all patients with mild symptoms to take advantage of it to make better use of stretched resources.
“As long as the living environment allows, being at home is better than isolation facilities because you will have more supplies at home and do not need to stay in a new environment.”
*Names changed at interviewees’ request
