CHP warns local spread of Covid-19 getting more serious

By Daisy CL Mandap 

Dr Chuang warns more cases could emerge from the Omicron and Delta outbreaks

Health officials have warned that the coronavirus spread in Hong Kong is getting more severe, with seven local confirmed cases reported today, Jan 19, two of them untraceable.

Nine imported cases were also reported, taking Hong Kong’s total Covid-19 tally to 13,082.

“We have been seeing more untraceable cases so we think the pandemic situation is getting more severe,” said Dr Chuang Shuk-kwan of the Centre for Health Protection in the daily press briefing today.

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One of the untraceable cases pertains to a 26-year-old kindergarten teacher found to carry the Omicron variant. An overnight lockdown of her residential building in Mei Foo Sun Chuen did not yield any new case.

Another confirmed unlinked case is that of a 73-year-old man who lives in Yat Kwai House in Kwai Chung whose infection was detected when he underwent a medical procedure at Yan Chai Hospital.

The man often spent his time in a park near his home but on Jan 8 had his HKID card replaced at the Immigration Department.

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Today a few preliminary positive cases also raised concern as no links between them and previous infections could be established immediately.

One concerns a 17-year-old boy living in Kwun Tong and studies at St Joseph’s Anglo-Chinese College who was found to carry the L452R strain of the Delta variant.

Chuang said his case could be linked to the outbreak of the Delta variant that started in the Little Boss pet shop in Causeway Bay. A female sales staff and two customers have tested positive for the increasingly rare variant that was also found in 11 hamsters being sold at the shop.

The school boy found with the Delta variant has never been to this pet shop

However, the student found infected today has never been to the shop.

Another preliminary case with no apparent link to previous infections involves a 53-year-old male forklift driver at the airport who tested positive after developing a cough on Jan 18.

He lives in Yat Kwai House in Kwai Chung estate where the elderly man who was confirmed positive today also lives. However, officials have yet to find out if they had interactions with each other.

Even if they did, it is unclear how many other people around them have already been infected as well.

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Also listed as a preliminary case is a friend of the kindergarten teacher in Mei Foo, who works in K11 Musea in Tsuen Wan. The new patient started coughing on Jan 17, after she was sent to a quarantine centre.

Chuang said most of the confirmed and preliminary positive cases reported today had Ct values of no more than 20, indicating a heavy viral load.

The untraceable new cases prompted Chuang to call on people living in Mei Foo and Kwai Chung to get tested, as there appears to be a silent transmission of the virus in the two districts.

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Today’s confirmed cases also included the 10^th and 11^th patients linked to the Pakistani woman who tested positive for the Omicron variant 26 days after arriving in Hong Kong.

The mother and daughter live in a floor above that of the woman in Tung Moon House in Sham Shui Po, stoking fears of a vertical transmission in the building.

Another patient indirectly linked to what Chuang has called as “the 26^th day case” is a 58-year-old teacher at Delia Memorial School (Broadway), also in Mei Foo, who acted as invigilator at an examination taken by two infected students at the school.

Another resident of Monterey Cove tests positive though no new case was found during a lockdown

One of the students is the son of the Pakistani woman while the other is his classmate who lives in Monterey Cove in Caribbean Coast, Tung Chung.

Today one of the preliminary positive cases is a 14-year-old boy who also lives in Monterey Cove, and studies at HKMA David Li Kwok-po College in Mong Kok.

CHP ordered both HKMA David Li College and St Joseph’s College to suspend face-to-face classes after the two teenagers tested positive for the virus.

Meantime, all students and teachers present during the examination at Delia School have been moved to quarantine.

Chuang warned more cases could come up from the two clusters of infections fueled by Omicron in one, and Delta in the other.

“There are signs that there are still cases coming up from the community testing centres, so we urge the public to be vigilant about hand hygiene and avoid social activities as much as possible.”

Filipina DH accused of theft settles labour claim for $20.5k

The Tribunal officer urged both parties to settle to end their dispute once and for all

A Filipina domestic helper was today paid a total of $20,533 to settle a labour claim she filed against her former employer who terminated her and accused her of stealing some $400,000.

L.C. Lazaro still managed to say thank you to her employer after agreeing to the settlement amount which was about $11,000 less than what she had originally claimed.

“I want to be thankful to my employer,” L.C. Lazaro told Labour Tribunal presiding officer Timon Shum today, Jan. 19. “I agree to what he is willing to pay.”

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Lazaro had originally asked for $31,504, of which $17,166 was payment for one month’s salary in lieu of notice, outstanding salary, annual leave and holiday pay, air ticket and travel allowance; plus $14,338 for severance pay.

Lazaro filed her claims last November after her employer, Li Hoi Ho, called the police and accused her of stealing, before terminating her. The Filipina has denied the accusation.

Lazaro was originally hired by Li’s mother in 2016, but was terminated after seven months. After moving to Macau, she received a call from Li asking her to return to Hong Kong. Li took over signing Lazaro’s contract after his mother died. In all, the Filipina had worked for the family for four years.

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Shum clarified that both parties had agreed on the need to pay Lazaro most of her claims, with the employer offering to pay $13,194, but not for severance pay.

The tribunal officer suggested that the parties agree on the non-controversial offer of the employer of $13,184 and move on to the remaining claim that can be resolved in court.

When Lazaro questioned how the employer arrived at the offered amount, Shum said threshing out the details can be done in a court, but it will take time and it could go either way.

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“It’s up to you to argue over history,” he added.  “The possibility of the settlement is you get money first.”

Turning to Li, Shum explained that the law allows an employer to not pay the termination or severance pay if the employee does a serious misdeed, such as dishonesty, during employment.

Thus, the resolution of this issue depends on the police investigation of Li’s theft accusation, which Lazaro denies.

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But he suggested that the case can be settled fully. “I would say it’s like a fire. If it goes on, it makes you worry you may be burned,” Shum added.

Shum said Li can settle the whole case for his own peace of mind, suggesting a 50 per cent discount on what Lazaro was asking for termination or severance pay.

“Okay. I accept,” Li answered after a few minutes. This brought his total discount to $10,971.

11 new local cases reported, another vertical transmission feared

By The SUN

 

The virus infected 8 residents in two flats in this Sham Shui Po building

Three lockdowns ordered Tuesday night by health officials did not result to any new case of Covid-19 being found, government press statements revealed this morning, Jan 19.

The buildings covered included Tower 1, Monterey Cove in Caribbean Coast in Tung Chung, Mei Foo Shun Chuen Phase 3, and Ka Sing House, Ka Lung Court, Aberdeen.

Monterey Cove is where a 16-year-old male student at Delia Memorial School (Broadway) in Mei Foo Sun Chuen, lives. He tested preliminary positive Wednesday, and is suspected to have been infected by a classmate who lived in the same flat in Tai Hang Tung Estate in Sham Shui Po as a 43-year-old Pakistani housewife who appears to have spread the virus directly to nine other people.

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The nine infections linked to the woman were among 11 new local cases reported Wednesday. A further seven imported cases were also reported, taking Hong Kong’s total confirmed Covid-19 tally to 13,066.

The two other local cases included a woman living in the Aberdeen building who was linked to the spread of the Delta variant in a pet shop in Causeway Bay, while the third is a female member of a Yau Tong household where a cluster of infections had been detected earlier.

Among the preliminary cases were two linked to the Sham Shui Po building. A 42-year-old housewife and her three-year-old child who live in a flat above that of the Pakistani woman tested positive, triggering fears of another vertical transmission. The mother and child tested negative during a lockdown on the building on Jan 15.

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As a result, everyone who lived or stayed in unit 14 on 1/F to 11/F of Tung Moon House during the incubation period will be transferred to a quarantine center.

Also testing preliminary positive is a female teacher in a North Point kindergarten whose source of infection is still unknown. She lives in the tower block in Mei Foo Sun Chuen which was also put on overnight lockdown.

No new case was found from the Mei Foo building where the kindergarten teacher lives 

The 26-year-old woman teaches at Learning Habitat Kindergarten (Novum East) in North Point. She last went to work on Jan 5 and had fever the following Sunday, Jan. 9, after shopping at a Don Don Donki shop in Tsim Sha Tsui and visiting the Harbour City and K11 malls.

She saw a private doctor on Monday where she was tested, and the result came back positive the next day.

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Another preliminary positive case is the 66-year-old husband of the woman who visited the  Little Boss pet shop, and was among those reported as a confirmed case on Wednesday. The couple live together in the Aberdeen block which was the third to be locked down

To step up testing in the affected areas, the government said it will set up mobile test stations in Sham Shui Po, Cheung Sha Wan and Mei Foo. An additional testing centre was also set up at Pak Tin community hall in Sham Shui Po.

Meanwhile, Yan Chai Hospital announced late on Tuesday that a 79-year-old man who was admitted for a colonoscopy examination has tested preliminary positive for Covid-19 during the standard screening procedure.

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The patient was moved to an isolation ward for treatment while two of his close contacts who were not wearing eye protection during the operation will be moved to a quarantine centre. These are the surgeon who performed the operation on him, as as well as a nurse who was collecting deep throat saliva nearby.

2 former CX flight crew charged with violating pandemic restrictions

By The SUN 

CE Lam said the two air crew members left on passenger flight and returned aboard a cargo plane

Two former flight attendants of Cathay Pacific have been arrested and charged in court for violating the government’s anti-Covid regulations (Cap 599A).

A statement released by the government late Monday night said the two accused, while employed by the airline as flight attendants, arrived in Hong Kong on Dec 24 and 25, 2021, respectively.

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“During medical surveillance, they had conducted unnecessary activities in contravention of Cap 599A on Dec 25 and 21, 2021 respectively. They were both subsequently tested positive for Covid-19 Omicron variant, and have been discharged from hospital upon completion of treatment.”

At her regular press briefing today, Nov 18, Chief Executive Carrie Lam confirmed the arrests, and said the two had left Hong Kong on a passenger flight and returned on a cargo flight to gain quarantine exemption.

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She added that the government is conducting an investigation to see if Cathay Pacific breached any rules by allowing for such an arrangement to take place.

Earlier this month, Cathay announced that it fired the two air crew members on suspicion of breaking Covid protocols during their medical surveillance period.

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Health officials have said the two met up on Dec 25 at the home of the second air crew member who had proceeded there after testing negative at the airport.

On Dec 27, the second crew member had lunch with two relatives in Kowloon Tong, and in the process infected a couple of diners. He also went to a pharmacy where he passed on the virus to the unvaccinated proprietor, and indirectly to several other people.

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The government press release said the pair has been released on bail and will appear again on Feb 9 at Tuen Mun and Eastern courts, respectively.

HK orders pet cull amid fears hamsters have passed on Covid-19 to humans

By Daisy CL Mandap 

11 hamsters sold in a Causeway Bay pet shop tested positive for Covid-19

Hong Kong has ordered the cull of more than 2,000 small animals after finding a batch of hamsters that tested positive for Covid-19 with the Delta variant, the same type of strain that was found in a 23-year-old female sales staff at a pet shop in Causeway Bay.

Health officials also revealed at a press conference this afternoon that a 67-year-old woman who had visited the shop briefly to buy a pet from the sales staff has also tested positive for the Delta variant. Her husband who has never been to the shop, has tested preliminary positive.

Speaking at the press conference, Health Secretary Prof. Sophia Chan said that officials from the Agriculture and Fisheries Conservation Department had tested animals in the Causeway Bay shop, and 11 were found infected with the coronavirus, all of them hamsters.

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A team of experts also took environmental samples from the Tai Po warehouse of the pet chain which has 15 branches all over Hong Kong, and a number of them tested positive for Covid-19. The results of the tests on the animals there are still pending.

“Although internationally there is no evidence yet that pets can pass on the virus to humans, we must take precautionary measures to minimize the risks,” Chan said.

As a result of these findings, AFCD Secretary Leung Siu-Fai announced that the following measures will be taken:

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1)     All animals at the Causeway Bay shop and the Tai Po warehouse will be put down.

2)     All pet shops must stop selling hamsters and all those that were flown to Hong Kong from the Netherlands on Dec 22 and Jan 7 and sold to the public will be seized and similarly killed.

3)     All small animals, including chinchilla, rabbits and guinea pigs that are on sale will be tested, and until they test negative, no pet shops will be allowed to sell them.

4)     The AFCD will stop the importation of small animals into Hong Kong and ask exporting countries to conduct tests on the pets to ensure there is no unseen transmission going on among them.

Officials say putting down the animals is necessary to stop possible spread to humans

Dr Edwin Hui, controller of the Centre for Health Protection, said they were considering two possible sources of transmission within the pet shop. One was that the sales staff had passed on the virus to the customer, even though their interaction was brief and they both wore masks.

“But we are not ruling out the possibility that there was a direct transmission from animals to humans,” Hui said.

CHP’s infectious disease chief Dr Chuang Shuk-kwan said a total of 143 transactions were made in the pet shop chain from Dec 22 and 121 of the customers have already been traced. The rest did not provide contact telephone numbers.

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Hui said that because there have been at least two cases of human infections in the shop, all those who bought animals there during the relevant dates will be contacted so they could surrender their pets for testing before being put down. 

Regardless of the result, the pet owners will be sent to quarantine. 

All those who had been to the pet shop from Jan 7-15 are also being contacted. At least one man has reported on social media that he would be sent to quarantine tonight when he was at the shop for less than an hour.

Meanwhile, all shops selling hamsters have been told to close, and surrender the animals to the authorities to be put down.

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Asked if it was humane to put down 2,000 small animals when only a small number were found to carry the virus, the officials pointed out that this was the first time that Covid-19 was found among hamsters in a natural setting. That indicates they could easily pass it on among themselves and to other animals, even humans.

Vaccine bubble may start as early as Feb 4, says CE

By The SUN 

CE says businesses may reopen on Feb 4 but only under a vaccine bubble

Hong Kong’s plan to introduce the so-called vaccine bubble, in which only fully vaccinated people will be allowed into certain premises like restaurants, may start as early as Feb 4, instead of Feb 24 as originally planned.

This was what Chief Executive Carrie Lam said at a press conference held this morning, Jan 18, before the weekly meeting of the Executive Council.

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Mrs Lam said that the current round of social distancing measures which include a ban on dine-in at restaurants after 6pm and the closure of bars, karaoke, beauty parlors and other venues, will end on Feb. 4 only if the number of Covid-19 cases remain steady.

If businesses are reopened then this could only be under the vaccine bubble arrangement.

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“One of the arrangements we could consider after this round of social distancing measures is to allow business to operate under a vaccine bubble,” she said.

“As a result of that suggestion, of course, we are already seeing an increase – I won’t call it as a surge – but an increase in vaccination amongst the population, especially among the older population which is to be welcomed.”

Even theme parks may restrict entry only to those who are fully vaccinated

She said the vaccination figure has gone up in the last eight to 10 days. Yesterday, close to 18,000 people had their first shot of a Covid-19 vaccine. She is hoping the rate will go up to 20,000 daily.

She is most concerned about the low vaccination rate among the elderly, who are among those at high risk of falling seriously ill if they contract the coronavirus. Only 27% of those aged 80 and above have taken the jab, according to her.

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The city’s top leader also announced that the distribution of financial aid for businesses hard-hit by the latest round of restrictions could be released before the Chinese New Year. She said there is a need to get the funds injected into the businesses as soon as possible.

Mrs Lam also expressed concern about the continuing spread of the Omicron variant, particularly in the case of the Pakistani woman who tested positive for Covid-19 after ending her 21-day hotel quarantine.

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Health officials said yesterday the patient had spread the virus to nine other people, five of them in her own household, and the other four in another family she met only briefly.

Equally alarming is the case of a 23-year-old woman working in a pet shop who was recently found to carry the Delta variant. She said Health Secretary Sophia Chan and the Director of Agriculture will hold a press conference in the afternoon to talk about this particular case.

Woman infected during quarantine spreads virus to 9 other people

By Daisy CL Mandap 

Experts found the virus on a toilet faucet, air purifier and vent in a room in Silka 

A Pakistani woman who was infected with Covid-19 while spending her 21-day quarantine in Silka Seaview Hotel in Yau Ma Tei, appears to have passed on the virus to nine other people belonging to two households.

This was revealed at the press briefing today, Jan 17, by Dr Chuang Shuk-kwan of the Centre for Health Protection.

The 43-year-old woman who was confirmed to carry the coronavirus with the Omicron variant yesterday, tested positive four days after ending her hotel quarantine.

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Chuang said five of the woman’s relatives who live with her, as well as four members of a related household in Sham Shui Po, have all tested preliminary positive.

The woman had traveled to Hong Kong on Dec 20 with a child who shared her quarantine hotel. The child was picked up by a family in the second household after they left the hotel.

“It’s possible that during that occasion the family got infected,” said Chuang, who added that the child did not test positive.

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CHP is now tracing the close contacts of the two families to stop the virus from spreading further.

Earlier, genome sequencing showed the virus appears to have spread among six people, including the woman, who had stayed in four rooms located on two different floors of Silka Seaview.

Experts who inspected the hotel said the virus must have spread in the corridors and infected the guests when they opened their doors.

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Of the 60 samples they took from the hotel, the virus was found on some items, like an air purifier and a vent and toilet faucet in one of the rooms.

In all, seven confirmed cases of Covid-19 were reported today, four of them locally acquired.

The local infections included a 23-year-old woman working in a pet shop who carried the Delta variant, which has been overshadowed by Omicron as the dominant variant around the globe.

Chuang said the source of her infection is still unknown, and gives rise to fears that a second silent transmission of the virus is going on in the community.

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The three other local cases are all linked to a 19-year-old male student who tested positive earlier. Two are family members while the third is a domestic worker. They had all been taken to a quarantine centre when they tested positive.

The new cases took Hong Kong’s total tally to 13,048, with 376 patients still being treated in hospitals.

CHP also reported detecting 40 additional Omicron cases, taking the total number to 453 cases so far.

FDH loses $10k in love & package scam

By Daisy CL Mandap 

The bundled US$100 bills that Joy's lover supposedly sent her

The trick was a very old one with just a bit of twist, but another Filipina domestic helper in Hong Kong has again fallen for it.

Joy, who declined to give her full name, had already sent HK $10,000 last Sunday, Jan 16, to a man who pretended to have sent her a box crammed-full of US$100 bills, but she was told to send $50,000 more, or the police would soon arrest her for money laundering.

Luckily, she turned to a world-wisely friend, Marilyn, who immediately advised Joy to stop doing the bidding of “Harry,” the man she had been chatting with online, and who had told her that he had sent her money but that it was held up in customs somewhere.

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Marilyn took over the chat with “Harry,” and asked for proof that a package had been sent to Joy. She also threatened to contact a lawyer.

But the person on the other end was not fazed, saying “You have only a few hours left, the custom officers will get you arrested when they get to their office.”

“Don’t blame me, I have told you and I have given you the information you needed. Thanks.”

Harry sent this photo supposedly of himself, to Joy

It was only after Marilyn told “Harry” to stop “scamming and harassing” Joy, and threatened to notify the authorities about the United Kingdom-registered number (+44 7436617620) that he was using that the man stopped threatening her friend.

Marilyn got Joy to immediately contact Hang Seng Bank to inform it about the two account numbers given by her online lover to which she was supposed to send the money. One is in the name of someone who sounded Chinese, and another to a Filipino man.

The bank, in turn, told them to report the incident to the police so they could cooperate in apprehending the culprits, especially those holding the accounts in Hong Kong.

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According to Marilyn, the scam happened after Joy somehow brought up her desire to build her own house in the Philippines during a chat with Harry, who sent her a photo supposedly showing him, along with a Cyprus-registered number: +357 95721014.

“Sinabi ni Harry na padadalhan siya ng pera na pambili ng bahay,” said Marilyn. (Harry told her he would send her money so she could buy a  house).

Soon, the man whose profile picture showed a bespectacled, clean-cut man with an engaging smile, told Joy he had sent her the money.

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He even sent her pictures of a thick wad of US dollar bills inside a box, as well as a video of money being put through a bill-counting machine.

These were the same photos and videos that had been sent to a number of Filipina domestic workers who were similarly scammed by men they met only online but are somehow still being used to victimize more of them.

Shortly afterwards, Harry sent an urgent message to Joy, telling her the box had been held up in customs and she needed to send $50,000 to get it released, otherwise, the police would come and arrest her for money laundering.

“Naghanap ng pera ang kaibigan ko, mabuti $10k lang ang nakuha niya, pero nung tinakot at binigyan ng ilang oras para maghanap pa ng $50k doon na ako tinawagan kasi sinabihan siya na ipapupulis siya,” said Marilyn.

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(My friend scampered to look for money. Luckily she managed to raise only $10,000, but when she was threatened and given only a few hours to look for $50,000 she decided to call me because she was told the police would be called to arrest her).

Harry gave a Hang Seng Bank account number in the name of a man surnamed Luo to where Joy should send money. Later, when she was threatened unless she sent more money, she was given another Hang Seng account in the name of a Filipino surnamed Ledesma.

Harry's threat, along with the bank details of R Ledesma

After taking over the chat, Marilyn threatened Harry that they had recorded all his conversations with Joy, and would forward them to the authorities.

This appeared to unnerve Harry, enough for him to revert to his previously solicitous tone in addressing Joy.

“Hello, honey. How are you? My lawyer is handling the case now,” he said in a string of messages.

“Send me those screenshot information that the diplomats sent to you…”

But after being warned and ignored repeatedly, Harry blocked Joy from his phone contacts, and also deleted the profile photo he was using.

Marilyn and Joy hope the matter will not end here. They want other Filipinas to know what happened so they will be more wary of engaging people they do not know or have not even seen in person, lest they also be scammed.

Needless to say, Joy is also hoping the bank would find a way to give her money back.

Untraceable case with Delta variant among 11 new Covid-19 cases

By The SUN

 

Chuang says they're 'very very worried' about the new Delta case

A residential building in Aberdeen has been locked down overnight, after health officials reported its first local case with the Delta variant in their daily press briefing today, Jan 16.

The case involving a 23-year-old woman who works at the Little Boss pet shop in Causeway Bay, was one of the preliminary positive cases of Covid-19 reported on Sunday.

Dr Chuang Shuk-kwan of the Centre for Health Protection said during the briefing that the case is causing concern that an unknown transmission of Delta is going on in the community at the same time as the more infectious Omicron variant.

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“There may be a Delta strain circulating, so it’s not only restricted to the Omicron cases we detected recently. So of course we are very, very worried if there are other cases of infections that have not been detected,” Chuang said.

“As for the source of her infection, we’re still investigating.”

Initial investigations showed the patient developed a cough on Jan 4 but did not seek medical help. The night before she went to have a hotpot dinner with a friend.

On Jan 5 she again had dinner with a friend, and on Jan 10 stayed overnight in a hotel in Wanchai before having another meal with friends. She had herself tested only when she started coughing and had a sore throat.

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Chuang again reminded the public to immediately seek medical help if they develop symptoms to stop the spread of the virus.

The CHP reported 11 new confirmed cases today, eight of them imported.

One locally detected case, that of a 74-year-old man living in City Garden, North Point, is linked to the dance cluster that started with a Cathay flight stewardess who infected family members after arriving from the United States.

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Two were classified as possibly import-related case. One involves a female aircraft cabin cleaner and the other, a Pakistani housewife who is believed to have been infected during her 21-day quarantine at Silka Seaview Hotel in Yau Ma Tei.

Chuang said genomic sequencing tests carried out at PolyTechnic University showed the case of the aircraft cleaner tallied with those from recent arrivals from Finland, United States and other places.

The case of the Pakistani housewife, on the other hand, is linked to those of five other guests who stayed in four different rooms on two separate floors at Silka Seaview.

Yuen says the virus must have spread in Silka when the guests opened their doors

Microbiologist Yuen Kwok-yung who was among those who inspected the hotel this afternoon said the virus may have spread through the corridors when the guests opened their doors.

Including today’s new confirmed cases, Hong Kong’s total Covid-19 tally has gone up to 13,041.

CHP announced in a separate statement that starting tomorrow, it will conduct a special arrangement under which those who have finished the 14 days of quarantine at quarantine centre (except inbound travelers covered by Cap. 599E) will be tested for the virus. If they test negative, they will be allowed to leave the quarantine centre in a gradual and orderly manner.

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This means, those presently undergoing 21 days of quarantine will have their stay shortened for one to seven days. Afterwards, they will have to undergo self-monitoring at home for the remaining days of their original quarantine period.

“Though they will not be prohibited from going out during self-monitoring, they should monitor their health conditions, maintain social distance with other people and avoid social gatherings,” said the statement.

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“They are also subject to testing at a community testing centre on Day 19, counting from the last day of exposure to the case tested positive.”

 CHP also announced that passenger flight UO705 operated by Hong Kong Express Airways from Bangkok, Thailand, will be suspended for two weeks, or until Jan 29, after one of its passengers on Jan 14 tested positive on arrival and another failed to comply with boarding requirements.