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Hong Kong grave sweepers at a major cemetery have taken preventive measures to protect themselves from mosquito bites, but remain determined to pay respects to their ancestors on Chung Yeung Festival despite visiting an area near the city’s first reported local chikungunya case. At the Diamond Hill Urn Cemetery, about 1km from the public housing estate where the patient resides, while a mosquito repellent station is set up at the entrance for visitors, some grave sweepers urged authorities to do more to curb the spread of the disease. “We sprayed mosquito repellent and wore long-sleeve clothing before going grave sweeping today. We did everything we could to ward off mosquitoes,” said Michael Chau, a 52-year-old engineering sector worker. “We are doing a little more to prevent mosquito bites. If everyone does the same, we will be able to stop its spread.” Paying respects to his grandparents with his siblings, Chau said he did not consider skipping tomb sweeping despite the risk of chikungunya virus infection. “I did not consider not coming at all, as the situation is not that serious. Even with the locally acquired case, there have been no spikes in case numbers,” he said. Hong Kong recorded its first-ever locally acquired chikungunya case on Sunday, with health authorities warning that the 10,000 people who live in the same neighbourhood as the 82-year-old patient faced higher risks of infection. Chikungunya fever is a viral disease transmitted by the Aedes mosquito. While rarely fatal, it can lead to symptoms such as fever, rash and joint pain. Chau, who visits the cemetery with his family members every year, urged authorities to do more to help prevent the spread of the virus, such as doing more promotional work or offering grave sweepers some mosquito repellent. He also urged the cemetery management to trim the long, unkempt knee-high grass there to prevent mosquitoes, noting that it was better maintained in previous years. Authorities earlier announced plans to enhance cleaning and mosquito prevention efforts at public cemeteries and columbaria. “The Food and Environmental Hygiene Department urged the public to cooperate by clearing stagnant water and refuse after tomb-sweeping to prevent mosquito breeding,” a government spokesman said. “Containers such as lunchboxes, drink cans, plastic bags and buckets for burning incense should also be removed. “Furthermore, managers of private cemeteries have also been notified and urged to implement corresponding mosquito prevention measures.” Other grave sweepers undeterred by the risk of infection included 50-year-old clerk Sandy Cheung, who was paying respects to her relatives with her son. “I am not worried about chikungunya, the weather is so dry today. We have also prepared mosquito repellent patches,” she said. “We also wore long-sleeve clothes, but we removed it because it was too hot.” Cheung, who visits the cemetery every year, said she did not take any special precautions against the virus. “I did not consider skipping grave sweeping due to the risk of chikungunya infection, as the illness is not severe enough to keep people from going out,” she said. “Unless it is something like Covid-19, where we would actually be worried about.” Dr Joseph Tsang Kay-yan, co-chairman of the Hong Kong Medical Association’s advisory committee on communicable disease, said on Wednesday that the risk of a local outbreak remained “medium”. He pointed to the city’s regular exchange with mainland China, dense population and the virus’ high transmissibility as risk factors. But as the temperature in Hong Kong drops, mosquitoes become less active, he added. “Whether there will be an outbreak depends on the effectiveness of authorities’ anti-mosquito efforts and case-tracking work,” he said. Fifty chikungunya fever cases have been recorded in Hong Kong so far this year, 48 of which were imported. Following the first local case detected in Fung Tak Estate, Diamond Hill, a 55-year-old woman working at Rhenish Church Grace School, located within 200 metres of the local case’s home, was diagnosed with the disease. But since she travelled to the mainland during the incubation period, a genome analysis is under way to determine whether the two cases are related. “If the test shows the two cases are related, it means that there are hidden transmissive chains in the district,” Tsang said. “And if cases keep popping up there in the coming two weeks, we should be careful.” Tse Hing-sang, the head of Rhenish Church Grace School, said the school had suspended all outdoor physical education classes this week and would assess the situation before resuming them. He added that the school had also strengthened its precautionary measures, such as applying mosquito repellent to students as they entered the campus. “Parents are optimistic as they understand we need to cope with different challenges as the environment changes. We are cooperating very well,” he said, noting that “nearly all” students had put on long-sleeve clothes. So far, no students have reported suspected symptoms of chikungunya, according to Tse. Separately, the Fire Services Department established a designated command centre chaired by an assistant director to monitor and respond to wildfires happening during Chung Yeung Festival. According to Wong King-man, the deputy chief fire officer for New Territories North, the department has identified eight wildfire black spots located in Yuen Long, Sheung Shui, Pat Heung, Tin Shui Wai and Heung Yuen Wai, with the help of big data. “We will step up patrolling in these areas to remind citizens of the importance of not leaving fire sources behind and to react quickly to wildfire,” he said. He added that the department had mobilised 200 additional officers than average, and patrols would be supported by the Civil Aid Services. While the patrolling firefighters were equipped with handy anti-wildfire hardware, such as backpack water pumps and fire beaters, drones would also be deployed to carry such equipment, he said. The Hong Kong Observatory issued a Yellow Fire Danger Warning at 7.30am, indicating a high fire risk. Wong said the winds would be strong on the day, which could help spread wildfires, and urged residents to remain vigilant.
