A Man with COVID-19 in HK Had Visited a Prostitute, Leading to Tricky Contact Tracing

Contact tracing is one of the most potent weapons against the coronavirus outbreak.

If all close contacts of a confirmed Covid-19 patient are quickly identified and quarantined, the virus will have no more hosts to spread to, and the outbreak will eventually die out.

Typically, the authorities will ascertain all the locations a confirmed case has visited, and find out who else was there at the same time.

This is not always as easy at it sounds, though.

For instance, what do you do if your coronavirus patient visited a sex worker?

A Man with COVID-19 in HK Had Visited a Prostitute, Leading to Tricky Contact Tracing

Hong Kong police are scrambling to find a sex worker and close contacts of a Covid-19 patient after he had visited a brothel in Mong Kok.

However, the man couldn’t recall where the brothel was situated within the building, so officers were unable to find the woman according to SCMP.

The problem is that there are several brothels in the building which the man had visited.

As a result, all sex workers there were asked to undergo Covid-19 tests.

At the moment, the patient’s source of infection is unknown.

It’s unclear if the man was infected by the sex worker. On the other hand, he could have had the virus before visiting the brothel, and passed it on the the sex worker.

A police source told SCMP that this could be the first man to admit visiting a sex worker since the outbreak of the virus.

Around four weeks ago, a suspected sex worker tested positive for Covid-19, following her arrest in a joint anti-vice operation by police and immigration officers.

Cases Continue to Rise

As you’re probably aware, there are a worrying signs of an escalating outbreak in Hong Kong.

On Monday (23 Nov), Hong Kong recorded 73 new infections, their highest daily tally since 16 Aug.

8 of the locally transmitted infections are untraceable, including the man who visited the brothel.

You’re probably already aware of the alarming situation in Hong Kong because your first vacation this year, the one you were really looking forward to, was taken away from you.

On Saturday (22 Nov), the authorities announced that the SG-HK air travel bubble (ATB) will be postponed by two-weeks, due to the escalating outbreak in Hong Kong.

Previously, both countries agreed that if the number of unlinked local infections exceeded five in either city on a rolling seven-day average, the ATB would be suspended for two weeks.

Even though the mark of five per day hadn’t been reached on Saturday, the authorities expect things to get worse, and took precautions.

As Dr Chuang Shuk-kwan from the Centre for Health Protection said: the pandemic is now “coming in full fury”, in what many see as the fourth wave of the outbreak in Hong Kong.

Residents Who Test Positive Will Get $5,000

According to Reuters, most of the latest infections are linked to dance clubs, which shows why the Singapore government has been so reluctant to open them up again.

The government has urged residents to take Covid-19 tests before the situation gets too dire.

Testing stations have been set up in several districts across the country.

Believe it or not, Hong Kong residents will actually get $5,000 (S$866) if they get a test positive for Covid-19.

This is to encourage more people to take tests, so the virus can be contained.

Getting rewarded for being infected with a deadly virus must be a strange feeling.

Featured Image: Yung Chi Wai Derek / Shutterstock.com (Image is for illustration purpose only)