Trapped and desperate: expectant mothers among Hongkongers stranded in epicentre of deadly coronavirus with no help in sight
- Frustration at Hong Kong government’s inaction sees city’s residents on mainland reach out to political parties for help
- Hongkonger has died in Hubei province, while four more cases confirmed in city takes total to 74
A 77-year-old man has become the first Hongkonger to die in mainland China from the coronavirus, the Hong Kong government said on Sunday, as thousands of the city’s residents remain stranded in the epicentre of the deadly epidemic.
The Wuhan resident’s death came as Hong Kong’s largest mainland-friendly political party and a trade union grouping said they had received hundreds of requests for help from pregnant women, families with infants, and chronically ill patients trapped in Hubei province, and in desperate need of assistance.
The Hong Kong Federation of Trade Unions (FTU) and Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong (DAB) said they had received 683 requests in total – including from nine women at various stages of pregnancy – and that there was growing frustration at the government’s lack of help.
While it is not clear how many of these are overlapping cases, as some may have contacted both the FTU and DAB, it underscores the scale of the problem facing a government criticised for its handling of the crisis.
Four more people in Hong Kong were confirmed to have been infected on Sunday, bringing the city’s total to 74.
The administration has not announced any evacuation plans for some 2,700 Hongkongers who have been stuck in 10 cities across the province. On Saturday, it issued a vague statement saying the government was working on a “practicable” plan to bring them back “in batches”.
On Sunday, the Hong Kong government’s Wuhan Economic and Trade Office said it had contacted three pregnant women, whose due dates are in the next two months, to learn about their situations and health conditions, as well as offer them advice.