Covid-19: positive test for fully vaccinated, UK-based Hong Kong darts player Kevin Leung Kai-fan
- The 37-year-old nicknamed ‘Fat Beauty’ is isolating in his room in Liverpool after performing a home test on Monday but is still hoping to play in Friday’s European Tour qualifiers
- The world No 83 suspects he caught the coronavirus after visiting a sports bar in Liverpool last Sunday, thinking he was safe because he was vaccinated
Hong Kong darts player Kevin Leung Kai-fan said he had tested positive for Covid-19 despite being fully vaccinated, though he hopes to recover in time to play in this month’s European Tour qualifiers.
The 37-year-old nicknamed “Fat Beauty”, Hong Kong’s first darts professional, said on social media that he started displaying flu symptoms last weekend and returned a positive test on Monday.
“After feeling unwell over last weekend I took a Covid-19 test on Monday, which returned a positive result,” he wrote. “Whilst in England I have received both vaccines and I was hoping the test result may have been incorrect however, on Wednesday, I began to show minor symptoms of Covid.
“I immediately informed my manager who contacted the PDC to withdraw me from the Super Series 5. Though I am extremely disappointed the health of my family & I and all the players & officials takes priority.
“Following the quarantine period and with a negative result I still hope that the PDC may allow me to compete in the European Qualifiers. I will update everyone with my progress.”
The United Kingdom is suffering a new surge in Covid-19 infections, with the highly contagious Delta variant sweeping across the country. The Hong Kong government last week banned flights from the UK, which has been averaging more than 23,000 daily cases over the past 10 days.
It is not clear which vaccine Leung received, with the UK approving four brands – Pfizer-BioNTech, Oxford-AstraZeneca, Moderna and Janssen, all of which require two doses.
Leung told Darts World he woke up last Sunday morning in his Liverpool home with headaches after a sleepless night, thinking he had caught something from his daughter who had been suffering from the sniffles.
He performed a lateral home test that showed a positive result but he was initially sceptical because he had received both vaccine doses. “Of course, there was the chance that it might not be totally accurate but within 24 hours of the result, I lost my sense of smell and taste. At that point, I knew it was definitely Covid,” Leung told Darts World.
“I made sure I kept away from my wife and daughter and stayed in a separate room from them both. Thankfully they tested negative.”
Leung, ranked 83rd in the Professional Darts Corporation’s (PDC) order of merit with £18,000 in earnings this season, suspects he caught the coronavirus at a sports bar in Liverpool.
“Had I not been jabbed twice, I wouldn’t have gone. It’s frustrating as I’ve followed every single rule and guideline from the very start,” he was quoted as saying.
He is now in quarantine at home and has isolated himself from his family. Leung hopes a negative test will be enough for the PDC to clear him to play in the European qualifiers, which start on Friday in Coventry. He is vying to become one of 32 players to qualify for September’s European Tour.
“Of course, I need to see how my body condition is. If I’m too weak and not able to throw a dart properly, then even if the PDC say it’s ok, I won’t be going. But I really want to be there,” he said.
Leung won one match during the last four-tournament Super Series in Milton Keynes from June 14-17. It came in the first round of the third event when he defeated Dutchman Jelle Klaasen 6-4.
