Omicron symptoms (updated)

Allyson van de Pol made this Freedom of Information request to Department of Health

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The request was partially successful.

Dear Department of Health,

Recently you kindly provided information on the symptoms of Omicron:

https://accessinfo.hk/en/request/omicron...

Could you please update this information, so that it is up to date?

Thank you

Yours faithfully,

Allyson van de Pol

Department of Health

I am out of the office until 02/03/2022.

For urgent matters, please contact Miss Jackie LAM, CO(Per)4 at 3107 2571 /
&DH/CO[Per]4.

Note: This is an automated response to your message "Freedom of Information
request - Omicron symptoms (updated)" sent on 20.02.2022 02:37:12 PM.

This is the only notification you will receive while this person is away.

Department of Health

Dear Julian,
               
Code on Access to Information
Re: Application No. 17/2022
                Our department has received your application for access to
information on 20.2.2022.  Your application is now under processing.
 According to paragraph 1.16 of the Code on Access to Information, our
department will inform you of the latest progress of the case separately
on or before 11.3.2022.  In the meantime, please contact me at 2125 2214
if you have any enquiry.

Yours sincerely,

(Miss Cherry MOK)
for Director of Health

======================================================================

From:        Allyson van de Pol <[FOI #989 email]>
To:        FOI requests at Department of Health <[Department of Health request email]>
Date:        20/02/2022 14:43
Subject:        Freedom of Information request - Omicron symptoms
(updated)

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Dear Department of Health,

Recently you kindly provided information on the symptoms of Omicron:

[1]https://accessinfo.hk/en/request/omicron...

Could you please update this information, so that it is up to date?

Thank you

Yours faithfully,

Allyson van de Pol

-------------------------------------------------------------------

This is a request under the Code of Access to Information facilitated via
the accessinfo.hk website.

Please use this email address for all replies to this request:
[FOI #989 email]

Is [Department of Health request email] the wrong address for Freedom of Information requests
to Department of Health? If so, please contact us using this form:
[2]https://accessinfo.hk/en/change_request/...

Disclaimer: This message and any reply that you make will be published on
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[3]https://accessinfo.hk/en/help/officers

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References

Visible links
1. https://accessinfo.hk/en/request/omicron...
2. https://accessinfo.hk/en/change_request/...
3. https://accessinfo.hk/en/help/officers

Department of Health

Dear Allyson,
               
Code on Access to Information
Re: Application No. 17/2022
                Our department has received your application for access to
information on 20.2.2022.  Your application is now under processing.
 According to paragraph 1.16 of the Code on Access to Information, our
department will inform you of the latest progress of the case separately
on or before 11.3.2022.  In the meantime, please contact me at 2125 2214
if you have any enquiry.

Yours sincerely,

(Miss Cherry MOK)
for Director of Health

======================================================================

From:        Allyson van de Pol <[FOI #989 email]>
To:        FOI requests at Department of Health <[Department of Health request email]>
Date:        20/02/2022 14:43
Subject:        Freedom of Information request - Omicron symptoms
(updated)

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Dear Department of Health,

Recently you kindly provided information on the symptoms of Omicron:

[1]https://accessinfo.hk/en/request/omicron...

Could you please update this information, so that it is up to date?

Thank you

Yours faithfully,

Allyson van de Pol

-------------------------------------------------------------------

This is a request under the Code of Access to Information facilitated via
the accessinfo.hk website.

Please use this email address for all replies to this request:
[FOI #989 email]

Is [Department of Health request email] the wrong address for Freedom of Information requests
to Department of Health? If so, please contact us using this form:
[2]https://accessinfo.hk/en/change_request/...

Disclaimer: This message and any reply that you make will be published on
the internet. Our privacy and copyright policies:
[3]https://accessinfo.hk/en/help/officers

If you find this service useful as an FOI officer, please ask your web
manager to link to us from your organisation's FOI page.

-------------------------------------------------------------------

References

Visible links
1. https://accessinfo.hk/en/request/omicron...
2. https://accessinfo.hk/en/change_request/...
3. https://accessinfo.hk/en/help/officers

Allyson van de Pol

Dear Department of Health,

Thank you. I'd appreciate a speedy reply in this matter.

Yours faithfully,

Allyson van de Pol

Department of Health

Dear Allyson van de Pol,
               
Code on Access to Information
Re: Application No. 17/2022
        Further to our previous reply dated 1.3.2022, please find our
reply on your requested information under Code on Access to Information
dated 20.2.2022.

2.        As of 16 February 2022, among the cases detected with Omicron
variant, 42% were asymptomatic, while 14% had fever, 24% had cough, 21%
had sore throat, 11% had runny nose, 10% had headache, 2% had shortness of
breath, 1% had diarrhoea, 1% had nausea, and less that 1% had loss of
taste and loss of smell.

3.        Thank you for your attention.

        Remarks: A symptomatic case may report one or more symptom(s).

Yours sincerely,

(Miss Constance LAM)
for Director of Health

From:        Admin CDB/DH/HKSARG
To:        [FOI #989 email]
Date:        01/03/2022 17:36
Subject:        Re: Freedom of Information request - Omicron symptoms
(updated) (Application No. 17/2022)

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Dear Allyson,
               
Code on Access to Information
Re: Application No. 17/2022
                Our department has received your application for access to
information on 20.2.2022.  Your application is now under processing.
 According to paragraph 1.16 of the Code on Access to Information, our
department will inform you of the latest progress of the case separately
on or before 11.3.2022.  In the meantime, please contact me at 2125 2214
if you have any enquiry.

Yours sincerely,

(Miss Cherry MOK)
for Director of Health

show quoted sections

Department of Health

Dear Allyson van de Pol,
               
Code on Access to Information
Re: Application No. 18/2022
        Further to our previous reply dated 1.3.2022, please find our
reply on your requested information under Code on Access to Information
dated 20.2.2022.
2.        Please find the details of cases that tested positive for
SARS-CoV-2 virus reported since March 2021 by their COVID-19 vaccination
status in the table below.

No. of cases that tested Not fully
Year* Month positive for SARS-CoV-2 Fully vaccinated^ vaccinated#
virus reported
2021 March 459 0 459
2021 April 305 1 304
2021 May 67 2 65
2021 June 82 9 73
2021 July 61 17 44
2021 August 128 65 63
2021 September 110 99 11
2021 October 129 117 12
2021 November 90 77 13
2021 December 213 201 12
2022 January 1554 1105 449
2022 February 191576 129453 62123

* Information on COVID-19 vaccination was available from Mar 2021
^ "Fully vaccinated" refers to cases who had completed the full course of
COVID-19 vaccination according to the corresponding recommended
vaccination schedule (one dose or two doses schedule).
# "Not fully vaccinated" includes those cases who had not completed the
full course of COVID-19 vaccination, those who were unvaccinated and those
with vaccination status unknown.

3.        Thank you for your attention.

Yours sincerely,

(Miss Constance LAM)
for Director of Health

show quoted sections

Allyson van de Pol

Dear Department of Health,

Thanks very much.

Could you please update the symptom list to at least the and of February, preferably to date, as the figures are now one month out of date.

In regard to your positive for SARS CoV2 data, could you please put the data in a spreadsheet, for easy reading.

Could you also break down the 'not fully vaccinated' column to state:

-received two doses of the vaccine, with second dose less than 14 days ago
-received one dose of the vaccine, with dose less than 14 days ago
-unvaccinated (no doses received to date)
-vaccination status unknown)

Many thanks for your help in this matter!

Yours faithfully,

Allyson van de Pol

Department of Health

Dear Allyson van de Pol,
Code on Access to Information
Re:Application No. 33/2022
                Our department has received your application for access to
information on 12.3.2022.  Your application is now under processing.
 According to paragraph 1.16 of the Code on Access to Information, our
department will inform you of the latest progress of the case separately
on or before 1.4.2022.  In the meantime, please contact me at 2125 2380 if
you have any enquiry.

Yours sincerely,

(Miss Constance LAM)
for Director of Health

From:        Allyson van de Pol <[FOI #989 email]>
To:        FOI requests at Department of Health <[Department of Health request email]>
Date:        12/03/2022 14:55
Subject:        Re: Freedom of Information request - Covid 19 cases and
Their Vaccination Status (updated) (Application No. 18/2022)

show quoted sections

Please use this email address for all replies to this request:

[FOI #989 email]

Disclaimer: This message and any reply that you make will be published on
the internet. Our privacy and copyright policies:

[1]https://accessinfo.hk/en/help/officers

If you find this service useful as an FOI officer, please ask your web
manager to link to us from your organisation's FOI page.

-------------------------------------------------------------------

References

Visible links
1. https://accessinfo.hk/en/help/officers

Allyson van de Pol

Dear Department of Health,

Thank you!

Yours faithfully,

Allyson van de Pol

Department of Health

Dear Allyson van de Pol,
               
Code on Access to Information
Re: Application No. 27/2022
          Further to our previous reply dated 11 March 2022, please find
our reply on your requested information under Code on Access to
Information dated 4 March 2022.

2.        As of 18 March 2022, 5188 cases have passed away during the 5th
wave of COVID-19 in Hong Kong. Among the 5188 cases, 8% cases were known
to be symptomatic and 1% were asymptomatic while 91% were unknown.

3.        You may to wish to refer to the press releases of the Hospital
Authority for details of the fatal cases
([1]https://www.ha.org.hk/visitor/ha_visitor...).
The Hospital Authority may announce details of the newly reported fatal
cases in the press releases. For instance, you may refer to the press
release on 12 February 2022
([2]https://www.ha.org.hk/haho/ho/pad/65679e...).

4.        Thank you for your attention.

Yours sincerely,

(Miss Constance LAM)
for Director of Health

From:        CDB_Reply/DH/HKSARG
To:        [email address]
Date:        11/03/2022 18:39
Subject:        Re: Application for Access to Information (Allyson van de
Pol) Freedom of Information request - Updated Underlying Symptoms in Covid
Deaths (Application No. 27/2022)

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Dear Mrs Van de Pol,
               
Code on Access to Information
Re:Application No. 27/2022
                Our department has received your application for access to
information on 4.3.2022.  Your application is now under processing.
 According to paragraph 1.16 of the Code on Access to Information, our
department will inform you of the latest progress of the case separately
on or before 24.3.2022.  In the meantime, please contact me at 2125 2380
if you have any enquiry.

Yours sincerely,

(Miss Constance LAM)
for Director of Health

show quoted sections

Allyson van de Pol

Dear Department of Health,

Thanks for your reply, however it is very confusing, may I please clarify.

I have two requests lodged with you:

1)Please update the symptom list of cases to date ie %age of symptomatic/ % of asymptomatic and the symptoms that the symptomatic have been experiencing in percentages

2) You have previously given me cases of Covid 19 per month and whether the individual was vaccinated or not , could you please put the data in a spreadsheet, for easy reading and also break down the 'not fully vaccinated' column to state:

-received two doses of the vaccine, with second dose less than 14 days ago
-received one dose of the vaccine, with dose less than 14 days ago
-unvaccinated (no doses received to date)
-vaccination status unknown)

Further in regard to your death figures above, may I know how Covid 19 was attributed to be the cause of death in 91% of cases when it cannot be ascertained whether the patient was symptomatic or not? Can you give more information here?

Many thanks

Yours faithfully,

Allyson van de Pol

Department of Health

Dear Allyson Van de Pol,
Code on Access to Information
Re:Application No. 29/2022
                Our department has received your application on additional
information for access to information on 18.3.2022.  Your application is
now under processing.  According to paragraph 1.16 of the Code on Access
to Information, our department will inform you of the latest progress of
the case separately on or before 7.4.2022.  

2.                Please note that our department does not possess the
information of "length of illness from Covid 19 positive test until death"
and "how was cause of death listed on death certificate".  Subject to your
consent, we will seek inputs from Hospital Authority and Immigration
Department respectively.

3.                In the meantime, you may contact the undersigned at 2125
2380 if you have any enquiry.  Thank you for your attention.

Yours sincerely,

(Miss Constance LAM)
for Director of Health

From:        "Enquiry (Hospital Authority)" <[email address]>
To:        "'[Department of Health request email]'" <[Department of Health request email]>
Cc:        "'[email address]'"      
 <[email address]>
Date:        18/03/2022 14:37
Subject:        Internal review of Freedom of Information request - Covid
19 Fifth Wave Deaths

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To: Miss Constance Lam,
       Department of Health
 
Dear Miss Lam,
 
The preceding email is addressed to you.
 
For your attention, please.
 
 
Yours sincerely,
Joey Lai
for Access to Information Officer
Hospital Authority Head Office
(Tel.: 2300 6836/2300 6555)

 

show quoted sections

Allyson van de Pol

Dear Department of Health,

Thank you- yes please consult any dept as you need to to glean this information.

Thank you

Yours faithfully,

Allyson van de Pol

Department of Health

Dear Allyson Van de Pol,
Code on Access to Information
Re:Application No. 33/2022
        Further to our previous reply dated 21.3.2022, please find our
reply on your requested information under Code on Access to Information
dated 14.3.2022.

2.        As of 30 March 2022, among the cases with available information
recorded during the 5th wave, 26% had cough, 20% had sore throat, 11% had
fever, 10% had runny nose, 5% had headache, 1% had shortness of breath, 1%
had diarrhoea, 1% had nausea, and less than 1% had loss of taste or loss
of smell.

3.        Since the outbreak of the 5th wave of COVID-19, there have been
large number of cases reported in Hong Kong.  In view of the evolving
situation, the provisional data above are subject to changes according to
epidemiological investigation.

4.        According to the preliminary data analysed by the Centre for
Health Protection (CHP) of the Department of Health on the fatal cases in
hand as of 19 March 2022, about 88 per cent of the first 5 435 fatal cases
in the 5th wave of epidemic have not received two doses of COVID-19
vaccines.  The case fatality rate of infected individuals who received at
least two doses of vaccines is 0.09 per cent, while that of those who
received one dose and unvaccinated are 0.7 per cent and 2.58 per cent
respectively. This shows that vaccination definitely helps reduce the case
fatality rate.

5.        For details of cases in the 5th wave, please visit the following
websites of the CHP for the provisional statistics.  

* [1]https://www.covidvaccine.gov.hk/pdf/5th_...
* [2]https://www.covidvaccine.gov.hk/pdf/deat...
* [3]https://www.info.gov.hk/gia/general/2022...  

6.        You may wish to know that for the report of "Statistics on 5th
Wave of COVID-19", statistics are compiled based on provisional data from
the CHP and the Hospital Authority.

7.        Thank you for your kind attention.

Yours sincerely,

(Miss Constance LAM)
for Director of Health

From:        CDB_Reply/DH/HKSARG
To:        [FOI #989 email]
Cc:        [email address], Access to info/DH/HKSARG@DH
Date:        21/03/2022 11:54
Subject:        Re: Freedom of Information request - Covid 19 cases and
Their Vaccination Status (updated) (Application No. 33/2022)

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Dear Allyson van de Pol,
Code on Access to Information
Re:Application No. 33/2022
                Our department has received your application for access to
information on 12.3.2022.  Your application is now under processing.
 According to paragraph 1.16 of the Code on Access to Information, our
department will inform you of the latest progress of the case separately
on or before 1.4.2022.  In the meantime, please contact me at 2125 2380 if
you have any enquiry.

Yours sincerely,

(Miss Constance LAM)
for Director of Health

From:        Allyson van de Pol <[FOI #989 email]>
To:        FOI requests at Department of Health <[email address]>
Date:        12/03/2022 14:55
Subject:        Re: Freedom of Information request - Covid 19 cases and
Their Vaccination Status (updated) (Application No. 18/2022)

show quoted sections

Please use this email address for all replies to this request:

[FOI #989 email]

Disclaimer: This message and any reply that you make will be published on
the internet. Our privacy and copyright policies:

[4]https://accessinfo.hk/en/help/officers

If you find this service useful as an FOI officer, please ask your web
manager to link to us from your organisation's FOI page.

-------------------------------------------------------------------

References

Visible links
1. https://www.covidvaccine.gov.hk/pdf/5th_...
2. https://www.covidvaccine.gov.hk/pdf/deat...
3. https://www.info.gov.hk/gia/general/2022...
4. https://accessinfo.hk/en/help/officers

Department of Health

Dear Allyson Van de Pol,
Code on Access to Information
Re:Application No. 34/2022
        Further to our previous reply dated 23.3.2022, please find our
reply on your requested information under Code on Access to Information
dated 14.3.2022.

2.        According to the preliminary data analysed by the Centre for
Health Protection (CHP) of the Department of Health on the fatal cases in
hand as of 19 March 2022, about 88 per cent of the first 5 435 fatal cases
in the 5th wave of epidemic have not received two doses of COVID-19
vaccines.  The case fatality rate of infected individuals who received at
least two doses of vaccines is 0.09 per cent, while that of those who
received one dose and unvaccinated are 0.7 per cent and 2.58 per cent
respectively. This shows that vaccination definitely helps reduce the case
fatality rate.

3.        For details of cases in the 5th wave, please visit the following
websites of the CHP for the provisional statistics.  

* [1]https://www.covidvaccine.gov.hk/pdf/5th_...
* [2]https://www.covidvaccine.gov.hk/pdf/deat...
* [3]https://www.info.gov.hk/gia/general/2022...  

4.        You may wish to know that for the report of "Statistics on 5th
Wave of COVID-19", statistics are compiled based on provisional data from
the CHP and the Hospital Authority.

5.        Since the outbreak of the 5th wave of COVID-19, there have been
large number of cases reported in Hong Kong.  In view of the evolving
situation, the provisional data above are subject to changes according to
epidemiological investigation.

6.        Thank you for your kind attention.

Yours sincerely,

(Miss Constance LAM)
for Director of Health

From:        CDB_Reply/DH/HKSARG
To:        [email address]
Cc:        [email address], Access to info/DH/HKSARG@DH
Date:        23/03/2022 16:18
Subject:        Re: Internal review of Freedom of Information request -
Covid 19 Deaths in 2022 (Application No.34/2022)

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Dear Mrs Van de Pol,
Code on Access to Information
Re:Application No. 34/2022
                Our department has received your application for access to
information on 14.3.2022.  Your application is now under processing.
 According to paragraph 1.16 of the Code on Access to Information, our
department will inform you of the latest progress of the case separately
on or before 1.4.2022.  In the meantime, please contact me at 2125 2380 if
you have any enquiry.

Yours sincerely,

(Miss Constance LAM)
for Director of Health

show quoted sections

Allyson van de Pol

Dear Department of Health,

Thank you for your replay and clarifying the symptoms in this fifth wave.

I have further questions:

1) What percentage of the cases were hospitalised?

2) Regarding the cases ending in death, can you please advise the following:

-% of cases that were hospitalised
-the age range of patients that died

Thank you

Yours faithfully,

Allyson van de Pol

Department of Health

Dear Mrs Van de Pol,
               
Code on Access to Information
Re:Application No. 27/2022
                Our department has received your application for access to
information on 24.3.2022.  Your application is now under processing.
 According to paragraph 1.16 of the Code on Access to Information, our
department will inform you of the latest progress of the case separately
on or before 13.4.2022.  In the meantime, please contact me at 2125 2380
if you have any enquiry.

Yours sincerely,

(Miss Constance LAM)
for Director of Health

show quoted sections

Department of Health

3 Attachments

Dear Allyson van de Pol,
Code on Access to Information
Re: Application No. 29/2022
        Thank you for seeking additional information.  Further to our
previous reply dated 25 March 2022, please find the readily available
information on your request under Code on Access to Information dated 18
March 2022.

2.        As of 18 March 2022, 5,188 cases have passed away during the 5th
wave of COVID-19 in Hong Kong, with age ranging from 11 months to 112
years old.

3.        Please find the table showing the vaccination status of fatal
cases in the 5th wave of COVID-19 in Hong Kong as follow:-

Age groups Received 2 or 3 doses Received 1 dose Unvaccinated Total
<3 NA NA 1 1
3 – 11 0 1 3 4
12 – 19 1 0 3 4
20 – 29 3 1 6 10
30 – 39 4 3 7 14
40 – 49 8 4 27 39
50 – 59 37 32 87 156
60 – 69 78 77 278 433
70 – 79 129 169 567 865
80+ 346 604 2710 3660
Pending 0 0 2 2
Total 606 891 3691 5188

4.        For details of cases in the 5th wave such as comorbidities,
public hospitals' daily update, etc., please visit the following websites
of the CHP for the provisional statistics.  

*         [1]https://www.covidvaccine.gov.hk/pdf/5th_...
*         [2]https://www.covidvaccine.gov.hk/pdf/deat...
*        
[3]https://www.info.gov.hk/gia/general/2022...
*        
[4]https://www.info.gov.hk/gia/general/2022...

5.        You may wish to know that for the report of "Statistics on 5th
Wave of COVID-19", statistics are compiled based on provisional data from
the CHP and the Hospital Authority.  Since the outbreak of the 5th wave of
COVID-19, there have been large number of cases reported in Hong Kong.  In
view of the evolving situation, the provisional data above are subject to
changes according to epidemiological investigation.

6.        For the "medication or treatment given" and "length of illness
from COVID-19 positive test until death", please note that we are awaiting
Hospital Authority’s inputs.

7.        For the "how was cause of death listed on death certificate",
please note the following inputs from Immigration Department.

* Pursuant to section 4(2) of Births and Deaths Registration Ordinance,
Laws of Hong Kong (Cap. 174), the particulars required to be
registered concerning any death shall be the particulars specified in
the prescribed Form 2 in Second Schedule to Cap. 174, in which the
"Cause of Death" is one of the particulars that required to be
registered for a death.

* Section 20(b) of Cap. 174 reads that a registered medical practitioner
who has attended the death of any person during his last illness shall
forthwith sign and give to persons stipulated in section 14 of this
Ordinance (the informant) to give information concerning the death a
certificate (Form 18 in Second Schedule to Cap. 174), stating to the
best of his knowledge and belief the cause of death, and the informant
of the death shall, on giving information concerning the death,
deliver Form 18 to a registrar of births and deaths; and the cause of
death as stated in that certificate shall be entered in the register.
 Furthermore, by virtue of section 20(c) of Cap. 174, the said Form 18
is not required where an inquest is held on the body of any deceased
person, or where a coroner has issued a burial order.

* In other words, informants of deaths from natural causes shall, upon
death registration, furnish the Form 18 to a registrar of births and
deaths who will register such death in accordance with information on
the concerned Form 18.  For deaths from unnatural causes, as
stipulated at section 14(3) of Cap. 174, a coroner shall, after the
termination of an inquest, send a certificate to registrar of births
and deaths with the information required to be registered concerning
the death (including but not limited to the cause of death) and the
registrar shall cause the deaths and particulars on the certificate to
be duly registered accordingly.

* To conclude, the cause of death is registered according to the “Cause
of Death” duly given to a registrar of births and deaths either
provided by a medical practitioner on Form 18 or a coroner on the said
certificate.
* The relevant provisions are attached for your easy reference.

8.        Should you have any enquiries, you may contact relevant
department(s) for further assistance.  Thank you for your attention.
Yours sincerely,

(Miss Constance LAM)
for Director of Health

From:        CDB_Reply/DH/HKSARG
To:        [FOI #989 email]
Cc:        [email address], Access to info/DH/HKSARG@DH
Date:        25/03/2022 19:18
Subject:        Re: Internal review of Freedom of Information request -
Covid 19 Fifth Wave Deaths (Application No. 29/2022)

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Dear Allyson Van de Pol,
Code on Access to Information
Re:Application No. 29/2022
                Our department has received your application on additional
information for access to information on 18.3.2022.  Your application is
now under processing.  According to paragraph 1.16 of the Code on Access
to Information, our department will inform you of the latest progress of
the case separately on or before 7.4.2022.  

2.                Please note that our department does not possess the
information of "length of illness from Covid 19 positive test until death"
and "how was cause of death listed on death certificate".  Subject to your
consent, we will seek inputs from Hospital Authority and Immigration
Department respectively.

3.                In the meantime, you may contact the undersigned at 2125
2380 if you have any enquiry.  Thank you for your attention.

Yours sincerely,

(Miss Constance LAM)
for Director of Health

From:        "Enquiry (Hospital Authority)" <[email address]>
To:        "'[Department of Health request email]'" <[Department of Health request email]>
Cc:        "'[email address]'"      
 <[email address]>
Date:        18/03/2022 14:37
Subject:        Internal review of Freedom of Information request - Covid
19 Fifth Wave Deaths

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To: Miss Constance Lam,
       Department of Health
 
Dear Miss Lam,
 
The preceding email is addressed to you.
 
For your attention, please.
 
 
Yours sincerely,
Joey Lai
for Access to Information Officer
Hospital Authority Head Office
(Tel.: 2300 6836/2300 6555)

 

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Department of Health

Dear Allyson Van de Pol,
Code on Access to Information
Re:Application No. 42/2022
                Our department has received your application for access to
information on 1.4.2022.  Your application is now under processing.
 According to paragraph 1.16 of the Code on Access to Information, our
department will inform you of the latest progress of the case separately
on or before 21.4.2022.  In the meantime, please contact me at 2125 2380
if you have any enquiry.

Yours sincerely,

(Miss Constance LAM)
for Director of Health

show quoted sections

Department of Health

Dear Allyson,
Code on Access to Information
Re: Application No. 27/2022
        Further to our previous reply dated 4.4.2022, please find our
reply on your requested information under Code on Access to Information
dated 24.3.2022.

2.        As of 30 March 2022, 7493 cases have passed away during the 5th
wave of COVID-19 in Hong Kong. Among those cases with available
information, 68% cases were known to be asymptomatic, 7% had fever, 12%
had cough, 4% had sore throat, 4% had shortness of breath, 2% had runny
nose, 1% had nausea, 1% had diarrhea and 1% had loss of smell. However,
information on symptoms were not available for around 90% of fatal cases.

3.        Since the outbreak of the 5th wave of COVID-19, there have been
large number of cases reported in Hong Kong and not all information would
be available for many cases.  In view of the evolving situation, the
provisional data above are subject to changes according to epidemiological
investigation.

4.        For details of cases in the 5th wave, please visit the following
websites of the Centre for Health Protection (CHP) for the provisional
statistics.  

[1]l        https://www.covidvaccine.gov.hk/pdf/5th_...
and
[2]l        https://www.covidvaccine.gov.hk/pdf/deat...  

5.        You may wish to know that for the report of "Statistics on 5th
Wave of COVID-19" and “Provisional Data Analysis on COVID-19 Reported
Death Cases”, statistics are compiled based on provisional data from the
CHP and the Hospital Authority.

6.        COVID-19 death case is defined as a death in a person with
positive SARS-CoV-2 result and died within 28 days of the first positive
specimen collection day. The underlying cause of death may have been
unrelated to COVID-19.

7.        Thank you for your kind attention.

                                                                         
                      (Miss Constance LAM)
                                                                         
                                  for Director of Health

**********************************************************************************************

From:        CDB_Reply/DH/HKSARG
To:        [FOI #989 email]
Cc:        [email address], Access to info/DH/HKSARG@DH
Date:        04/04/2022 09:51
Subject:        Re: Application for Access to Information (Allyson van de
Pol) Freedom of Information request - Updated Underlying Symptoms in Covid
Deaths (Application No. 27/2022)

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Dear Mrs Van de Pol,
               
Code on Access to Information
Re:Application No. 27/2022
                Our department has received your application for access to
information on 24.3.2022.  Your application is now under processing.
 According to paragraph 1.16 of the Code on Access to Information, our
department will inform you of the latest progress of the case separately
on or before 13.4.2022.  In the meantime, please contact me at 2125 2380
if you have any enquiry.

Yours sincerely,

(Miss Constance LAM)
for Director of Health
*****************************************************************************************

From:        Allyson van de Pol <[FOI #989 email]>
To:        FOI requests at Department of Health <[Department of Health request email]>
Date:        24/03/2022 19:44
Subject:        Re: Application for Access to Information (Allyson van de
Pol) Freedom of Information request - Updated Underlying Symptoms in Covid
Deaths (Application No. 27/2022)

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Dear Department of Health,

Thanks for your reply, however it is very confusing, may I please clarify.

I have two requests lodged with you:

1)Please update the symptom list  of cases to date ie %age of symptomatic/
% of asymptomatic and the symptoms that the symptomatic have been
experiencing in percentages

2) You have previously given me cases of Covid 19 per month and whether
the individual was vaccinated or not , could you please put the data in a
spreadsheet, for easy reading and also break down the 'not fully
vaccinated' column to state:

-received two doses of the vaccine, with second dose less than 14 days ago

-received one dose of the vaccine, with dose less than 14 days ago

-unvaccinated (no doses received to date)

-vaccination status unknown)

Further in regard to your death figures above, may I know how Covid 19 was
attributed to be the cause of death in 91% of cases when it cannot be
ascertained whether the patient was symptomatic or not? Can you give more
information here?

Many thanks

Yours faithfully,

Allyson van de Pol

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Department of Health

Dear Allyson Van de Pol,
Code on Access to Information
Re:Application No. 42/2022
                Further to our previous reply dated 7.4.2022, please find
our reply on your requested information under Code on Access to
Information dated 1.4.2022.

2.                As of 6 April 2022, the age of the fatal cases reported
in the 5th wave ranged from 11 months to 112 years old.

3.                As for the 1) percentage of the cases were hospitalised
for confirmed cases; and 2) percentage of cases that were hospitalised for
cases ending in death in the 5th wave, we are still seeking inputs from
HA.  Sorry for not able to provide the requested information at the
moment.

4.                Thank you for your kind attention.
Yours sincerely,

(Miss Constance LAM)
for Director of Health

show quoted sections

Allyson van de Pol

Dear Department of Health,

Thanks for your reply.

Please answer my initial question:

A) "You have previously given me cases of Covid 19 per month and whether
the individual was vaccinated or not , could you please put the data in a
spreadsheet, for easy reading and also break down the 'not fully
vaccinated' column to state:

-received two doses of the vaccine, with second dose less than 14 days ago

-received one dose of the vaccine, with dose less than 14 days ago

-unvaccinated (no doses received to date)

-vaccination status unknown)"

B) In regard to "1)percentage of the cases who were hospitalised
for confirmed cases; and 2) percentage of cases that were hospitalised for
cases ending in death in the 5th wave", can you please tell me when you will have this data from the HA?

Thank you!

Yours faithfully,

Allyson van de Pol

Department of Health

3 Attachments

Dear Allyson van de Pol,
Code on Access to Information
Re: Application No. 29/2022
       
        Further to our previous reply dated 7 April 2022, please find the
reply on your request under Code on Access to Information dated 18 March
2022.

2.        For the i) hosptalisation status; ii) medication or treatment
given; and iii) length of illness from COVID-19 positive test until death,
of patients that have died of COVID-19 during the 5th wave in 2022, HA
advised that HA is currently working with the Centre for Health Protection
to process and consolidate COVID-19 related data from internal and the
Government’s sources. While the 5th wave of COVID-19 outbreak is still
ongoing, there are a large number of COVID-19 cases that need to be
processed. As a result, the HA does not have readily available statistics
for provision of input.

3.        Should you have any enquiries, you may contact relevant
department(s) for further assistance.  Thank you for your attention.
Yours sincerely,

(Miss Constance LAM)
for Director of Health

show quoted sections

Department of Health

1 Attachment

Dear Allyson Van de Pol,
Code on Access to Information
Re:Application No. 42/2022
                Further to our previous reply dated 21.4.2022, please find
our reply on your requested additional information under Code on Access to
Information dated 21.4.2022.

2.                As of 00:00 20 April 2022, the vaccination status of
cases reported in the 5th wave is as following.
3.                Since the outbreak of the 5th wave of COVID-19, there
have been large number of cases reported in Hong Kong.  In view of the
evolving situation, the data above are subject to changes according to
epidemiological investigation.  For provisional statistics of the 5th wave
including the vaccination status of the cases, please visit the following
websites (statistics are compiled based on provisional data from the
Centre for Health Protection of the Department of Health and the Hospital
Authority):
               
               
[1]https://www.coronavirus.gov.hk/eng/5th-w... and
                [2]https://www.coronavirus.gov.hk/eng/death....

4.                We regret to inform you that other requested information
is not readily available.

5.                As for the i) percentage of the cases were hospitalised
for confirmed cases; and ii) percentage of cases that were hospitalised
for cases ending in death in the 5th wave, HA advised that HA is currently
working with the Centre for Health Protection to process and consolidate
COVID-19 related data from internal and the Government’s sources. While
the 5th wave of COVID-19 outbreak is still ongoing, there are a large
number of COVID-19 cases that need to be processed. As a result, the HA
does not have readily available statistics for provision of input.

6.                Thank you for your attention.

Yours sincerely,

(Miss Constance LAM)
for Director of Health

show quoted sections