Coronavirus: Seven weeks in hospital for karate Covid-19 patient Lee Chun-ho as Hong Kong athletes offer moral support
- More than a dozen athletes and supporters organise a Zoom gathering for the Covid-19 patient in which they shout ‘Negative! Negative! Negative!’
- Lee remains upbeat after two straight negative deep throat swab tests return negative but the stool test remains positive
World-class fencer Vivian Kong Man-wai was among more than a dozen Hong Kong athletes and supporters who rallied around karate’s Lee Chun-ho as he prepared to face day 50 in hospital because of Covid-19.
Lee was the first member of the Hong Kong karate team to test positive for the coronavirus in March but will be the last one to leave hospital, with teammates Tsang Yee-ting and Chau Ka-him and coach Rida Bel-Lahsen all having recovered and returned home.
Kong, former distance runner Wong Ching-yee, triathlete Tony Chui Kam-tong, and football commentator and ex-Hong Kong fencer Maria Chan Siu-san were among the dozen or so supporters who met up with Lee online via Zoom.
At the stroke of 8pm on Monday, the group in unison shouted, “Negative! Negative! Negative!”, in the hope that Lee would return the required two negative tests so he can go home.
“I thought I had recovered super fast,” said Lee, who tested positive on March 18, three days after returning with the Hong Kong team from a training stint in Paris.
“I only had the symptoms for a short period of time. I felt normal after seven days and could even exercise, so I was expecting to be going home quite soon.