No new Covid-19 case in HK for 2nd straight day

By The SUN

Save for the face masks, it would seem life in this Saikung seaside town is back to normal

There was no press briefing by Hong Kong’s health officials again today for the same reason there was none yesterday. It’s because no new confirmed case of Covid-19 was reported in the city; the second in two days, and the fourth in seven days.

There was also great news for 62 patients who were discharged from 14 public hospitals in the past 24 hours, a record daily release for the city.

Of the total infection figure of 1,038, only 247 are still in hospital. The total discharged figure of 787 accounts for a remarkable 75.8% of the total cases so far. The death toll remains at 4.

Pindutin para sa detalye!

Elsewhere, however, the picture looks grim, with the total infection across the globe breaching the 3-million mark.

The world tally now stands at 3,013,840, with 207,900 deaths, or nearly 7% overall. The total number of recovered patients is 888,516, which translates to just about 30% of the total infections so far.

The country with the highest infection figure is still the United States, which has close to a million cases, or 987,916 in all. Next is Spain, with 229,422; Italy with 197,675; France with 162,100; Germany with 157,946 and Britain with 152,840.

TAP FOR MORE DETAILS

The death toll has eased considerably across the board, however, unlike in the past two weeks when hundreds, if not thousands, were reported to have succumbed daily to Covid-19 in the hardest-hit European cities, and in New York City, the epicenter in the U.S.

Latest figures show only 12 new deaths across the United States, while Spain led the fatality toll with 331 over the past 14 hours.

The tally for new cases puts Russia on top with a disturbing 6,918 daily toll. And while Spain’s death toll has dwindled considerably, it still recorded 2,793 new cases for the day.

Call us!

Closer to Hong Kong, Singapore continues to bear the brunt from a wave of recent infections. Its total number of confirmed cases is now at 14,423, with about 92% of the patients still in hospital. A total of 799 new cases were recorded within the day.

The downward trend has caused several governments to start lifting lockdown restrictions. However, medical experts continue to urge caution, saying this could lead to a second wave of infections which the already beleaguered cities might find harder to contain.

BASAHIN ANG DETALYE

Call us!

Call us now!

Call us!

CALL US!

Call us!

Call us!

CALL US TO TRY!

Thousands of Hongkongers step out on another Covid-free day

by The SUN

Pedestrian traffic in Causeway Bay looked as it did pre-Covid

Taking advantage of the clear and sunny day, Hongkongers poured out onto the streets, shopping malls and other places of recreation on Sunday, Apr 26. The fact that no new case of Covid-19 was again detected for the day gave them another reason to celebrate.

There was good news, too, for 28 infected patients who were given the all-clear and were discharged from various hospitals today. That left the number of those still confined in hospitals to 313, with 725 discharged, out of a total tally of 1,038.

Pindutin para sa detalye!

Despite venturing out in droves, many people conspicuously conformed to the government’s social distancing rules. Restaurants were packed, but diners were strictly kept to four to a table, with all tables set at least 1.5 meters apart.

Locals were back to enjoying Sai Kung's seafood eateries sans the tourists

Many of those who strolled along beaches and on promenades also kept a distance from each other, as well as those who sat in parks, except for some migrant workers in both Central and Causeway Bay.

Call us!

Medical experts say that if Hong Kong is able to keep the number of new cases in low numbers, ideally with no local transmission, the city should be able to gradually open up starting next month.

For now, however, the social distancing measures, which include the closure of entertainment venues like amusement parks, theaters, pubs and karaoke bars, will remain in place until May 7.

BASAHIN ANG DETALYE

Call us!

Call Us!

Call us now!

Call us!

CALL US!

CALL US NOW!

HK police say nothing suspicious in Nebreja’s death

By The SUN

Gretchen Nebreja (from her Facebook account)

The police in Hong Kong say their initial investigation showed “no suspicious circumstances” surrounding the death of Filipina domestic worker Gretchen Nebreja.

But a post-mortem on her body will be conducted.

Consul General Raly Tejada says he has asked the police to investigate the case, amid allegation of foul play. But he was told the result of the post-mortem won’t be known for three weeks.

A Facebook post made in the Philippine claiming to have been made on behalf of Nebreja’s family, alleged that Nebreja, who died in Tuen Mun hospital on Apr 24, was beaten up by her employer.

Pindutin para sa detalye!

But a close friend of Nebreja in Hong Kong said doctors at the hospital had listed down the cause of death as heart attack.

In a statement issued to The SUN, a police spokesman said: “About 5.51pm on April 21, Police received a report from a 39-year-old woman that her 34-year-old domestic helper collapsed in a unit on 28 Tsing Fat Street, Castle Peak.

Call us!

Police officers rushed to the scene and found the domestic helper collapsed inside the bathroom. The unconscious domestic helper was then sent to Tuen Mun Hospital where she was admitted in ICU and certified dead in the morning on April 25.

The case was classified as “person collapsed”. Initial investigation revealed no suspicious circumstances surrounding her death. Post-mortem examination will be conducted on the deceased.”

TAP FOR MORE DETAILS

   

Nebreja, who hailed from Bgy. Beberon, San Fernando, Camarines Sur, had been in Hong Kong for only five months. Her Facebook account shows she was single, and had worked previously in Dammam, Saudi Arabia.

ConGen Tejada has told The SUN that the Consulate has been talking to Nebreja’s family and the agencies that placed her in Hong Kong, both here and in Manila in a bid to dig deeper into her case.

BASAHIN ANG DETALYE

Call us!

Call Us!

Call us now!

Call us!

CALL US!

CALL US NOW!

Phl labor officials under fire for calling for deportation of Duterte’s OFW critic

By The SUN

Dole wants Taiwan to deport the OFW for alleged cybercrime

Migrant workers groups have blasted Philippine labour officials for calling for the deportation from Taiwan of a Filipina caregiver who had criticized President Rodrigo Duterte online.

In several video posts that went viral, Elanel Egot Ordidor, a caregiver in Yunlin County, had asked the President if he never considered that the lockdown of Luzon and other regions would starve Filipinos to death ahead of the coronavirus killing them.

But her statement was mainly aimed at Duterte’s supporters, who she said shouldn’t be blinded by their loyalty to the President since their own relatives are suffering due to the lockdown.

Pindutin para sa detalye!

“Isipin nyo naman ang kapakanan ng mga anak nyo, ng mga pamilya nyo, hindi lang ang inyong mga sarili. Huwag nyo lang isipin ang utos ng Pangulo…Sigurado ako na 80% ng mga kamag-anak nyo ay umaangal na rin sa hirap na dinaranas nila ngayon,” she said.

The videos prompted the Philippine labor attaché in Taichung, Fidel Macauyag, to issue a statement on Apr 25 that he was seeking an unnamed OFW’s deportation for allegedly trying to “discredit and malign” and “destabilize the government.”

The Department of Labor and Employment subsequently named the unidentified OFW as Ordidor.

Call us!

“We are constrained to act for the deportation of [Ordidor] … for the crime of cyber libel for [her] willful posting of nasty and malevolent materials against President Duterte on Facebook, intended to cause hatred amidst the global health crisis brought about by the Covid-19 pandemic,” said Macauyag.

His move prompted an immediate rebuke from several migrant organizations, including Migrante International, which called out Dole and the Philippine Overseas Labor Office in Taichung for “harassing” Ordidor who had merely stated an opinion.

“There are thousands upon thousands of distressed, abused, stranded and neglected OFWs needing to be rescued and assisted, but these overseas Polo officials opted instead to expend all their time…to gang up on Ordidor [for] her critical views on Duterte,” Migrante said.

TAP FOR MORE DETAILS

“This is definitely meant to divert people’s attention from the Duterte regime’s inutility in addressing the Covid-19 pandemic and recession in the Philippines.” 

United Filipinos in Hong Kong echoed the criticism, telling Dole and Polo “to stop wasting time and public resources just to harass and terrorize an OFW for criticizing the government.”

 

Balladares says it is not Polo's job to harass and intimidate an OFW

Dolores Balladares, Unifil-Migrante chairperson, asked: “Since when did harassment and intimidation of our OFWs become part of the Labor Attaché’s job description? Have they now transformed into attack dogs of the Duterte administration against critics overseas?”

Balladares said OFWs and their families, especially during the Covid crisis, “need timely and sufficient financial assistance plus moral and material support from the government.”

Separately, a Philippine lawyer said on Facebook that the call for Ordidor’s deportation was “wrong on many levels.”

Wilfredo Garrido said that first, it is not the job of Dole to intervene with foreign governments on immigration matters.

Second, there should first be a determination of whether a crime had been committed before Manila could ask Taipei to deport a Philippine national, otherwise a dangerous precedent would be set.

Garrido cited other legal reasons before saying that Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III was in a conflict of interest situation because his principal function was to protect Filipino workers, “even though they are guilty of the worst offences, including murder and drug trafficking.”

In his statement, Macauyag said representatives from Polo in Taichung met with Ordidor on Apr 20 “to enlighten her that her actions amounted to a crime for which she might be prosecuted both in Taiwan and the Philippines.”

Ordidor reportedly promised to delete her videos and promised to post another one to publicly apologize to Duterte at 9pm on Apr 20 but this never happened.

Instead of an apology, Macauyag said, several “fake accounts” posted messages of sympathy and support for the worker on the Polo Taichung Facebook page.

BASAHIN ANG DETALYE

Call us!

Call Us!

Call us now!

Call us!

CALL US!

CALL US NOW!

PCG to ask police to investigate Filipina DH’s death

By Daisy CL Mandap

Nebreja's Facebook photo: Did she die of an alleged assault, or a heart attack?

The Philippine Consulate says it will ask Hong Kong police to investigate the death of Filipina domestic helper Gretchen Nebreja who passed on in Tuen Mun hospital on Apr 24, where she had been confined for three days.

A Facebook post said Nebreja had died from an alleged assault by her employer, but one of her province mates in Hong Kong says doctors have indicated her cause of death as heart attack.

Nebreja, who was said to be 34 years old from Bgy. Beberon, San Fernando, Camarines Sur, had been in Hong Kong for only five months. Her employer is said to reside in Aqua Blue, Siu Lam, Tuen Mun, New Territories.

Pindutin para sa detalye!

Her Facebook account shows she was single, and had worked previously in Dammam, Saudi Arabia.

Consul General Raly Tejada said in response to a query on messenger, “The Consulate has been talking to the family and the agencies both here and in Manila. We’ll have a meeting on this and request for an investigation by the HK authorities.”

Consul Paulo Saret, head of the Consulate’s assistance to nationals section, said the Filipina was in hospital between Apr 21 to 24, when she died, but gave no further details.

Call us!

The original Facebook post said that after the alleged assault Nebreja was rushed to hospital but died soon after.

But a Bicolana leader in the Filipino community in Hong Kong, Bebs Leonardo, who accompanied Nebreja’s friend to ATN, said the deceased was reportedly found by her employers collapsed in their bathroom, with her skin already purple in color, indicating a lack of oxygen.

 

Nebreja was rushed unconscious to Tuen Mun Hospital on Apr 21, and died 3 days later

She did confirm, however, that Nebreja had been having problems with her employer.

According to Nebreja’s friend, Sky Rubio, the deceased had sent voice messages to her, complaining of alleged verbal insults by both her employers.

TAP FOR MORE DETAILS

As a result, the deceased reportedly tried to break her contract thrice in the past, but was prevailed upon by her employer to reconsider.

Nebreja reportedly agreed because she needed the money, and also because the Luzon-wide lockdown in the Philippines would have meant her having difficulties returning to her province.

But the last time she asked to leave, she reportedly got her employer’s consent, and should have finished serving her notice yesterday, Apr 25, if she didn’t fall ill.

Nebreja’s cell phone has been turned over to ATN to assist them in their investigation.

Leonardo says she and Rubio do not know who made the original Facebook post claiming physical abuse by the employer, as it has been copied and reposted several times.

Comments on the Facebook posts say the family’s appeal for help has been referred to the Departments of Labor and Employment and Foreign Affairs, which will both ask their Hong Kong officers to ask for an inquiry.

BASAHIN ANG DETALYE

Call us!

Call Us!

Call us now!

Call us!

CALL US!

CALL US NOW!