Hong Kong Private School Head With Swine Flu Dies

"Hong Kong Private School Head With Swine Flu Dies | AboutHK.Com - More Information About HK"

Bloomberg Hong Kong’s Canadian International School principal Alan Dick died Sept. 27 after contracting swine flu, according to the city’s department of health. Dick, 55, had been on sick leave since Sept. 19, department of health spokeswoman Natalia Leung said by phone today. Six students at the school in Hong Kong’s Aberdeen district tested positive for swine flu and have recovered, she said. As of yesterday, 23 swine flu victims, including Dick, had died in Hong Kong, according to Leung. Dick’s case has been sent to the Coroner’s Court to determine a cause of death, Leung said. The Department of Health said in a statement yesterday that Dick had been suffering from fever and respiratory symptoms and he was found to have pneumonia when admitted to hospital. Laboratory tests yesterday showed him positive for human swine flu, the statement said. The city last week revised its swine flu treatment strategy by limiting testing for the virus to higher-risk patients as a rise in the number of cases threatened to overwhelm hospitals. Dick had been with the Canadian International School since 1994, when it had been open for just three years, according to a statement the school posted on its Web site. “A passionate and dynamic educator, and a proud Canadian, Alan created an incredible legacy through his contribution to the development of our school and our community,” the statement said. “He did so not from behind closed doors, but with tremendous personal warmth and charisma.” Health department officials visited the school again yesterday and found no evidence of flu outbreaks, the Centre for Health Protection said in a statement. Average daily attendance at Hong Kong’s accident and emergency departments rose from 6,354 in the last week of August to 7,086 last week, according to a government statement on Sept. 25. Attendance peaked at 8,891 on Sept. 21. To contact the reporter on this story: Wendy Leung in Hong Kong at wleung12@bloomberg.net This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it