He is not case #1487, but an 88-year old man who loved his wife
Translated by Guardians of Hong Kong
Reporter: Lau Wai-ching
With 2,778 confirmed cases and 22 deaths, the mortality rate sits at 0.792. In other words, there is not even one death per one hundred people. If you take into account the undetected and untested cases along with those who recovered on their own without even being aware, the mortality rate would have been even lower.
22 is not even a tenth of the 299 deaths that occurred during SARS.
This outbreak of COVID-19 cannot be described as a "killer". It is as if Hongkongers have become so accustomed to the increasing death count that when four deaths were reported in a single day on 27 July, hardly anyone batted an eyelid.
That is, until the case of one elderly man.
No one knew his name or bothered to find out. As the cases increased, people were simply numbered [akin to prisoners]. #1487, an 88-year old male patient, was receiving treatment at the Queen Mary Hospital before his death on the morning of 27 July.
But there was more to the story. #1487 was completely devoted to his wife. On the day he was confirmed positive, Dr Chuang Shuk-kwan [of the Centre for Health Protection] announced that his wife, #1355, was also a confirmed case. Every day, the old man would go to Kong Tai Care for the Aged Centre [a confirmed cluster location] to visit his wife. Even when they had to be separated by a window, he still went to see her.
At 67, she was 21 years younger than him. Their story is a bit fuzzy. Maybe given the age difference, she was mentally prepared for her husband to be first to pass away. Never would she expect to spend their final days together separated by a piece of glass.
On the night of his death, a sense of sorrow hung over our reporters' WhatsApp group. This was not a common occurrence since we heard all sorts of numbers every day. A random stranger's death was simply another one to add to the tally. Rational professionalism and the repetitive quality of our work had brought emotions down to near freezing temperatures early on.
Somehow, everyone felt an unspeakable heaviness in their hearts this time.
"It's like we actually knew him," said a reporter. I admit that it may seem insincere, but the old man's story lingered in my thoughts after hearing Dr Chuang Shuk-kwan's statement. When I looked through his information, I could feel the thud of my heart drop. I felt like I knew him.
He was no longer 1 out of 22 [deaths]. He became the old man who loved his wife. One could draw an analogy with the fox telling [Saint-Exupéry's] Little Prince that because of his golden hair, he would always be reminded of him when he saw golden wheat fields.*
And what of the other 21 out of 22? To be frank, they are still just 21 out of 22.
People are hypocritical but if we are aware of our own hypocrisy, we can remind ourselves. It's not 22 people who died. It's one unique individual who lost their life, repeated 22 times.
We also remind ourselves that the mistakes, negligence and delays of the government's "ineffectual flip-floppers" (to avoid writing coarse language) have - directly or not - cost 22 lives and broken 22 families, maybe more. The future may bring more deaths and more broken families.
The government is useless. If you don't want to die, rely on yourselves.
As Hongkongers, can we all promise each other this? Don't die. Don't get complacent. Protect yourselves and your loved ones. Last year, we learned that we were all one big family. Now, we need to protect our family.
Wear a mask. Wash your hands. Use hand sanitiser. Keep your hands away from your eyes, ears, nose and mouth. Stay home if you can. Remind the elderly and children around you as well.
It is the responsibility of the living to keep going for those who have passed away. We learned this lesson last year.
As of 27 July 2020, there were 22 deaths:
#13, 39-year old male
#55, 70-year old male
#89, 80-year old male
#99, 76-year old male
#1092, 78-year old female
#1100, 72-year old male
#1180, 55-year old male
#1341, 95-year old female
#1350, 90-year old female
#1365, 94-year old male
#1450, 89-year old male
#1707, 71-year old female
#1348, 87-year old male
#1562, 77-year old male
#1640, 63-year old male
#1338, 74-year old male
#1710, 84-year old male
#2480, 60-year old male
#2107, 76-year old female
#1306, 92-year old male
#1487, 88-year old male
# 1901, 95-year old female
* "I do not eat bread. Wheat is of no use to me. The wheat fields have nothing to say to me. And that is sad. But you have hair that is the color of gold. Think how wonderful that will be when you have tamed me! The grain, which is also golden, will bring me back the thought of you. And I shall love to listen to the wind in the wheat…" The Little Prince (1943) by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
Source: Stand News, 28 July 2020