A 59-year-old man with heart problems died while isolating at Penny’s Bay, according to an Oriental Daily report.
His is the second reported death to happen during COVID-19 quarantine or isolation in community facilities in Hong Kong in five days, and further raises concerns about such arrangements in the city.
The Chinese-language daily said it received a tip from a reader about the 59-year-old falling into a coma at the Penny’s Bay isolation camp on May 1.
The informant said personnel at the isolation center were alerted to the emergency only after his family sought assistance, the report noted.
It added that the reader suspected that the man was unconscious for two to three hours before staff at the camp attended to him.
The informant also questioned the lack of manpower at the community isolation facility, the report said.
Oriental Daily said the man had chronic illnesses and had to take nitroglycerin sublingual tablets, which are used to treat episodes of chest pain in people who have coronary artery disease, the narrowing of the blood vessels that supply blood to the heart.
The newspaper added the man had diabetes and kidney failure, and had taken three doses of the mainland China-made Sinovac vaccine.
The report also quoted the Civil Aid Service as saying that the man was sent to isolation on April 28 after he was infected with COVID-19 and he received medication delivered by his family to the camp on April 30.
Calls have been growing for authorities to review quarantine and isolation arrangements after veteran actor Kenneth Tsang died while undergoing quarantine at a Tsim Sha Tsui hotel last week.
Some have called for the possibility of home quarantine for the elderly and chronically ill patients, more checks on their condition during quarantine and isolation, as well as the use of technology such as smart wristbands or emergency alarm systems.
