Hong Kong’s first Filipino domestic worker infected with coronavirus ‘in good spirits’
- The 32-year-old woman is in isolation at a local hospital and says she has no symptoms including fever or coughing, according to Manila’s top envoy
- The head of the United Filipinos in Hong Kong says the case should not be used as the basis for discrimination against such employees in the city
The 32-year-old domestic worker, who is currently in isolation at a local hospital, initially tested negative for Covid-19 but returned a positive result three days later, on Tuesday. Her employer was confirmed to have the virus on February 13.
Speaking over the phone from a hospital ward on Wednesday, the Filipino migrant said she had no symptoms, including fever or coughing. “Doctors told her she could be released soon if further tests come out negative,” Tejada said.
We should not be discriminated against because of something like this
Noting that anyone could contract the coronavirus, Dolores Balladares-Pelaez, chairwoman of the United Filipinos in Hong Kong, said she hoped the case would not fuel prejudice against domestic workers in the city.
“We should not be discriminated against because of something like this,” she said.
Health authorities said the infected domestic worker developed a fever and started coughing on February 2, but did not seek medical help. She was eventually approached by health officials following up on her employer’s hospitalisation.
Dr Chuang Shuk-kwan of Hong Kong’s Centre for Health Protection said “she took some medicine and did not visit a doctor, thinking she had recovered”, adding that it was likely she contracted the coronavirus at her employer’s house.
Local health authorities are trying to get in touch with 10 of the domestic worker’s friends that she met on February 9 outside City Hall in Central.