South African Mutant Strain in HK Community

Dr Chuang believes hotel hooks may have spread mutant virus

 

There are fears the mutated Covid-19 variant from South Africa is now in the Hong Kong community after a man who flew in from Dubai, did the three-week hotel quarantine and then was found to be infected with the N501Y variant.

Another woman, a domestic helper stayed in the same hotel, the Ramada Hong Kong Grand Hotel in Tsim Sha Tsui, but different floor, and two others on the same floor were also found to have the South African mutated variant.

At least four infected cases stayed in this hotel

According to the Centre of Health Protection's Dr Chuang Shuk-kwan, it is believed they all caught the virus in the hotel, and a possibility is the hook on the handle of the door where meal boxes were hung for the guests was infected. Apparently those hooks were immediately removed since and replaced with chairs.

Experts assessing the situation said the hotel's ventilation and drainage systems were fine.  

Dr Leung Chi-chi, a respiratory medicine specialist, said he had reservations about the door hook theory.

"It's unlikely the guests would have touched the hook with a handful of sneeze and saliva. I think it's more likely the patients exhaled virus particles into narrow corridors when opening the door to get their meals, which had then stayed there for a long time."

It is also possible that staff are not cleaning the hotels thoroughly enough after each guest leaves, or pumping enough clean air in the hallways. Leung says quarantine hotels should install systems that ensured the air was changed six times per hour.

Meanwhile, while meeting local friends or chatting with them online, many have not gotten the vaccine and are still thinking about it.

People are still considering to get the vaccine

WHAT IS THERE TO THINK ABOUT?

They are now pushed a bit after hearing the news that the BioNTech jab will run out in September, but they are still not in a hurry to get it.

After weeks of nagging a younger relative who is in the education field, he is finally getting his on Friday.

It's hard for me to comprehend why the hesitation. There are only two vaccines to choose from, and one is better than the other.

Meanwhile my expat friends and colleagues have already gotten the first dose and eagerly waiting to get the second one despite the range of side effects from almost nothing to severe headaches and fever.

My argument is getting a vaccine -- whichever one you choose -- is better than none at all.

While it does not protect you 100 percent from Covid-19, the vaccine will lessen the severity of the symptoms when infected and in turn the long term health effects after recovering from the virus.

So... what are you waiting for?