HK posts record 52 Covid-19 cases, 41 of them local

By Vir B. Lumicao

Several case clusters have been reported in restaurants across Hong Kong 

Hong Kong reported a record 52 positive coronavirus cases today, Jul 13, 41 of them locally acquired. They brought the city’s total tally to 1,522.

The death toll also rose to eight tonight, after a 95-year-old resident of the Kong Tai Care for the Aged Centre in Tsz Wan Shan passed away at the Pamela Youde Nethersole Eastern Hospital. She was admitted to hospital on Jul 10 in stable condition, and had no symptoms. However, her condition deteriorated the next day during treatment.

Also tonight, a government statement said a senior immigration assistant tested positive for the coronavirus disease. The officer provided support services at offices on the 14th and 16th floor of the Wan Chai Immigration which were not open to the public.

Pindutin para sa detalye!

The Centre for Health Protection said it is still trying to find out the cause of his infection and whether he had been in close contact with other people. 

The steady spike in the number of cases, covering various districts across Hong Kong, led the government to announce this evening a series of new measures to further restrict public gathering.

Of the new cases announced this afternoon, 11 were imported, and they included two Filipino seafarers and an Indonesian domestic helper. One of the Filipinos, a 63-year-old, could not be located after his swab test at the airport yielded a positive result.

PRESS FOR MORE INFORMATION

There were also three other seafarers: two came from India, and the other, Finland, whose whereabouts were also not known.

Under Hong Kong regulations, plane and ship crews are still exempted from the 14-day mandatory quarantine, but are now required to undergo testing on arrival at the borders.

The five other imported cases include a 27-year-old resident who flew in from Pakistan, and a mother and her three young children who all came from India on Jun 30, and tested positive on their 12th day of quarantine.

 

Drs Chuang and Lau at today's press briefing where the record number of new cases was reported

According to Dr. Chuang Shuk-kwan of the CHP’s communicable diseases branch, 21 of the 41 local cases could be linked to earlier cases, but the 20 others are of unknown source.

Tinghayan ang isa na namang kwentong Dream Love

They include a 49-year-old female nurse who works at the Sacred Heart Oncology Centre in Yaumatei, a cashier at a Park ‘N Shop branch, a real estate agent, a renovation worker, a hotel worker, a restaurant manager in Tsz Wan Shan, and two part-time taxi drivers.

Of the linked cases, three more came from the Kong Tai elderly home, including an 86-year-old male who developed a cough on Jul 11 while under quarantine and was sent to Queen May Hospital where he tested positive for Covid-19.

Another elderly man, the husband of a resident in the old age center who herself was infected, was confirmed today. The man said he visited his wife almost everyday but stayed outside the glass door.

CALL US!

New cluster cases were also reported today in two locations. One was Dim Sum Square in Sheung Wan, where the 54-year-old chef, someone who came into contact with the owner, as well as the owner’s 56-year-old wife, were all confirmed cases.

Chuang said the dimsum owner tested preliminary positive, but is most likely also infected. Another linked case is a taxi driver who had been to the restaurant and drove the shop owner home.

Three confirmed and one probable case were today linked to Dim Sum Square in Sheung Wan

Several more case were linked to Green River Restaurant in Tsz Wan Shan, the Lucky Dragon Palace Restaurant in Choi Wan Commercial Complex, Deluxe Cuisine and Windsor Restaurant in Ma On Shan.

Chuang said anyone who visited these restaurants recently and developed symptoms should consult a doctor immediately.

Dr Lau Kai-yin, chief administrative manager of the Hospital Authority, said there were 88 suspected cases.

He said the Red Cross Blood transfusion service centre received a blood donation report from a patient who had been diagnosed as positive. He had donated blood to the West Kowloon Donor Centre on Jul 5.

Lau said one part of the blood donation, platelets, was received by one of the patients at Queen Elizabeth Hospital and they would arrange for him to be placed in an isolation ward and tested.

He said a total of 241 confirmed patients are currently in 12 hospitals, five of whom were in critical condition, seven in serious condition and the remaining 229 in stable condition.

PADALA NA!

Call us!

Call us now!

HK imposes strictest restrictions amid record Covid-19 surge

By Daisy CL Mandap

CE Lam announces the strict new rules in a press conference with her top officials

Hong Kong has imposed the strictest measures so far since the outbreak of the coronavirus, including no dine-in at restaurants from 6pm to 5am, closing down of most public venues, requiring the wearing of masks on public transportation, and restricting public gatherings to no more than four people to a group.

Chief Executive Carrie Lam made the announcement in a press conference tonight, Jul 13, in the wake of a record 52 cases of Covid-19 being reported in a single day, with 41 of them locally acquired and spread across a wide area.

She said that over the past week alone, a total of 182 local cases were recorded, 54 of them with unknown source, giving cause for concern.

Pindutin para sa detalye

Since the fresh outbreak of local cases, she said a number of new measures had been introduced as part of the government’s “lift and suppress” policy, including tightening border controls.

As part of this initiative, all arriving foreign domestic workers will now have to spend their 14-day mandatory quarantine in hotels, instead of their employers’ homes; plane and ship crews are now tested for the virus; and returning residents from highly infected places like India and Pakistan will be allowed to come back “in a more orderly manner.”

In addition, she said all travelers coming from “high-risk places” will now have to show certificates that they had tested negative for the coronavirus before they are allowed to board their plane, ship or buses, “otherwise the airline (or carrier) will be fined.”

She did not give a complete list of these places, but said the regulations will be announced in full in a government statement.

Pindutin para sa detalye!

The new measures which Lam said will take effect starting Wednesday also include closing down amusement parks and all public venues of the Leisure and Cultural Services Department.

The annual Book Fair, which was given the green light only a few weeks ago, will now be deferred again, along with the planned resumption of the Mark Six lottery.

 

Restaurants which only recently were allowed to operate at full capacity, can now only do takeout meals from 6pm

For the first time, all restaurants will now be allowed to only provide food for takeaway from 6pm until 5am, and everyone who gets on a public transportation, including the paid areas of the MTR, should wear a mask. Those who refuse to comply with the regulation face a fine of up to $5,000.

Unlike before though, there was no order for non-essential civil servants to work from home. Lam said the Secretary for Civil Service only issued an advice for staff to adopt a flexible work arrangement, or meal times.

Call now!

Lam also said testing for the virus will be stepped up to detect the asymptomatics, or those not showing any signs of the disease.

Those who will be tested immediately are the employees of elderly homes, restaurants and property management, as well as taxi drivers. These are the sectors that have proved most vulnerable in the latest rash of cases.

She said the government is enlisting the help of the private sector to reach its target of administering 8,000 tests per day.

Pindutin para sa detalye

For other members of the public, she said the government will be sharing its stockpile of 30 million masks. It will also look into providing more financial relief to businesses that will be hit hard by the new round of restrictions.

PADALA NA!

Call us!

Call us now!

HK Filcom sends off 7 Manila-bound Consulate staff

By Daisy CL Mandap

 

Abad fights back tears as she reads her farewell speech as her 6 colleagues listen on

There were some tears and a lot of laughter when about 80 Filipino community leaders braved a new surge in Covid-19 infection in Hong Kong to gather today, Jul 12, in Sheung Wan, and say farewell to seven departing Consulate personnel.

The seven, led by cultural attache Loise Abad and passport officer Jethro dela Cruz, are  about to be recalled to the Department of Foreign Affairs’  head office in Manila at the end of their six-year stint in Hong Kong.

The others are protocol officer Cholo Nuere, and four women who worked mostly behind the scene - Malu Roque, Mavic Panganiban, Jocel Alegria and Eva Tubana.

Pindutin para sa detalye

All of them were profuse in thanking the Filipino community for the help they extended during their stint at the Consulate.

Abad, who interacted the most with Filcom leaders, especially Leo Selomenio and Marites Nuval of Global Alliance who organized the farewell, was reduced to tears as she said thank you.

 

The honorees with some Filcom leaders, including organizers Nuval and Selomenio (2nd and 3rd from left, kneeling)

She said that with help from what she called as the “pinaka dynamic na (Filcom) leaders, the Consulate was able to organize what she said was “pinakamarami at bonggang events” (the biggest number and most spectacular events) in Hong Kong.

“Isang karangalan na nakasama, nakatrabaho at napaglingkuran ko kayo,” Abad said.

(It was an honor being with you, working with you, and having served you)

Pindutin para sa detalye!

Dela Cruz told the mostly Filipino domestic workers group that he understood their plight as his mother was also an overseas Filipino worker, “kaya naiintindihan ko ang mga sakripisyo ninyo.” (that’s why I understand what you have sacrificed).

He said Hong Kong was his first overseas assignment, having come from doing a far more stressful job in the Philippines.

During his six years at the Consulate, he started out as a staff of the cultural section, but went on to become the most visible campaigner for overseas voting, before settling for the more relaxed job of handling passport applications.

Call now!

Nuere spent much of his time at the Consulate doing protocol work, which meant he was rarely seen at Filcom events. His job entailed accompanying officers to welcome visiting VIPs from Manila and helping ensure they had a smooth stay in Hong Kong.

But because of the coronavirus outbreak, he said he had been spending more time at the Consulate, and so had the chance to interact more with colleagues and other fellow Filipinos.

He thanked the leaders for organizing the farewell, saying it was “nakakataba ng puso.”

(warms the heart).

Tinghayan ang isa na namang kwentong Dream Love

Roque, Panganiban and Alegria also expressed gratitude for the send-off, even if they said they mostly stayed inside offices not seen by the general public. Alegria spoke for them all when she said “Mami-miss namin ang Hong Kong.”

 

Alegria, Tubana, Roque, Nuere & Panganiban with their plaques from Global Alliance

Tubana, whose ever-smiling face made her the perfect fit as secretary to the consul general, was more introspective, and spoke of how the pandemic made her realize that material things don’t mean as much as having your family and loved ones around you.

She also said she was grateful for the chance to say goodbye to the community because “malapit ang puso ko sa inyo.” (I feel for you).

Some Filcom leaders responded in kind, shedding tears as they said goodbye to the group.

Each Filcom group gave the guests tokens of appreciation, ranging from plaques and trophies to a cake from Metrobank’s Babes Mercado, and some keepsakes.

The Migrant Ilonggo Association peformed a native dance, a throwback to the time Abad meticulously organized the Philippine Independence Day cultural shows during her watch.

Everyone, except for a few who had to leave to beat their employers’ curfew, then shared a festive meal that was put together from donations by the various organizations that took part in the send-off.

PADALA NA!

Call us!

Call us now!

HK people urged to stay home as 38 new Covid-19 cases reported

By The SUN

People are again being asked to avoid going out as 30 new local cases were reported

Thirty local cases of coronavirus infection in Hong Kong were confirmed today, Jul 12, prompting the Centre for Health Protection to urge people to stay at home and admit the local outbreak “is a little bit out of control”.

Four Filipinos who arrived from Manila in recent days were among eight imported cases confirmed today, bringing the total number of new cases to 38. An additional 20 were reported as having tested preliminary positive.

Two of the new arrivals from the Philippines are domestic helpers, aged 38 and 45, who both arrived on Jul 10 and were asymptomatic.

Pindutin para sa detalye

The other two are both men who appear to be sailors, aged 49 and 69. One arrived on Jul 9 and was sent to hospital from home quarantine, while the other was referred by the Port Health Division after arriving on Jul 10. Both had fever and cough.

A third  Filipina domestic worker was also found infected after developing an itchy throat yesterday. The helper, aged 52, lives in the same house in Tseung Kwan O as her employers and their 13-year-old daughter, who all developed symptoms earlier.

Among the new cases are 4 recently-arrived Filipinos and a migrant worker infected at her employer's home

CHP’s Dr Chuang Shuk-kwan said the new confirmed cases brought Hong Kong’s total tally to 1,469. The source of 13 of today’s cases is unknown.

Pindutin para sa detalye!

Responding to a query on when she expects the crisis to end, Chuang replied that it does not seem like the contagion will stop soon.

“We’d like it to end as soon as possible but given the current conditions, it doesn’t seem (like) it’s going to stop easily,” she said.

Chuang also said in response to another query: “We are having more and more cases each day, so it is a little bit out of control.”

She said those infected live in different areas and go to work in different industries and districts where they come into contact with various persons, so infections increase.

Call now!

“So, we need to be more careful. We need to maintain personal hygiene, and we should avoid unnecessary gatherings, just as what we did a few months ago, that can help slow down the outbreak,” Chuang said.

She said if people stayed at home and had less interaction, Hong Kong could slow down the outbreak. At the same time, she said the government should tighten distancing measures to curb the spread of the virus.

Chuang urged people living in the areas where there had been outbreaks in recent days to go for testing immediately if they feel unwell. They shouldn’t wait for the CHP to hand out sample bottles as that would be “time consuming and the yield would be very low,” she said.

Tinghayan ang isa na namang kwentong Dream Love

She expressed concern that more taxi drivers are getting infected in the third wave of the contagion, with another cab driver among the confirmed cases today.

The CHP official also noted the risk of getting infected in tutorial centers, saying the cramped space in such institutions could easily spread the disease.

An 11-year-old female student of Po Leung Kuk Lam Man Chan Primary School and her mother also tested positive, and so did a 7-year-old boy who went to Chun Yin Education Centre for tutorial, Chuang said.

She said CHP was contact-tracing more than 10 pupils who attended the same tutorial school as the boy patient.   

Two teenage female students at Good Hope School also tested positive. One of them was the 13-year-old who infected her parents and their Filipina helper.

An Immigration officer at the Shenzhen Bay border checkpoint whose preliminary test was positive on Saturday, was a confirmed case today, Chuang said.

She said another man, also 48, who tested positive today, said he went to a bar in Tsimshatsui late on Jul 1, but forgot its name.

Dr Sara Ho, Hospital Authority chief manager, said a total of 205 confirmed patients are currently hospitalized in 10 hospitals. Four of them are in critical condition, three are in serious condition, and the remaining 198 are in stable condition.

Earlier today, Gabriel Matthew Leung, dean of the Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine at the University of Hong Kong, told a radio program the transmission rate in the contagion’s third wave had risen by 30%, or an average of one positive person infecting 3 to 4 others.

Leung, a public health authority, cited a research that indicated the virus has mutated. He said this is just the beginning of the local outbreak and the situation is more serious than at the start of the infection in January.

He said Hong Kong’s virus detection capability was ahead of the world but has not continued to improve. He added the public medical system and university laboratories are not enough to cope with the outbreak and need help from the private medical sector.

PADALA NA!

Call us!

Call us now!

7 Filipinas among 28 new Covid-19 cases in HK today

By The SUN

4 of the newly arrived Filipinas are domestic workers but the 3 are a resident mother and her 2 daughters

A record number of newly arrived Filipinas from Manila are among the 28 new cases confirmed today, Jul 11, by Hong Kong health authorities, bringing the city’s total to 1,432.

But a further 33 people tested preliminary positive, in what could be the biggest ever number of Covid-19 cases recorded in Hong Kong in a single day.

Of the 12 imported cases, seven involved Filipinas who recently flew in from Manila. Four are all domestic helpers, while the three remaining ones are a mother and her two daughters who are all returning residents.

Pindutin para sa detalye

Dr Chuang Shuk-wan of the Centre for Health Protection said the first of the seven infected Filipinas is 31 years old, and arrived in Hong Kong on Jul 9. She was asymptomatic, and was sent to Tuen Mun Hospital for treatment.

Three others arrived yesterday aboard Hong Kong Airlines Flight HX 782, aged 26, 29 and 32 years old. Two were asymptomatic, while one had a cough. All were sent to Tuen Mun Hospital, 

The mother and her two daughters, all residents, flew in aboard Philippine Airlines flight PR 330. The mother is 41 years old, and her daughters are aged 21 and 16. All didn't have symptoms. They  were transferred to Prince of Wales Hospital from the AsiaWorld-Expo.

The new surge of cases in what the experts call a third wave, has prompted warnings from health officials for people to stay indoors and refrain from gathering in public.

Call now!

“Stay at home as much as possible so we can have a chance to control the outbreak,” said Dr Chuang.

She warned that the latest outbreak is the worse that Hong Kong has experienced as it affects people from all walks of life: residents in elderly homes and housing estates, taxi drivers, students and restaurant patrons and staff.

Among those who tested preliminary positive is a 27-year-old senior immigration assistant assigned at the Shenzhen Bay border crossing. He stopped going to work on Jul 8 after experiencing stomach ache, diarrhea and sore throat.

There has also been a noticeable increase in the number of airline and ship crew members who test positive on arrival at the airport. 

Pindutin para sa detalye!

Today’s imported cases include an airline crew who had already left Hong Kong before his test result showing he had the virus, had come out. Another is a FedEx pilot who arrived from the United States, and had eaten at a Din Tai Fung restaurant during the incubation period.

Since Monday, four Filipino sailors who flew into Hong Kong to board their freighter were also found to have the coronavirus disease.

But the worst outbreaks occurred locally, particularly in hotspots identified previously: the Kong Tai Care for the Aged elderly home in Tsz Wan Shan, the Bun Kee Congee & Noodle Shop in Ping Shek Estate in Choi Hung, and the Sun Fat restaurant in Jordan.

Tinghayan ang isa na namang kwentong Dream Love

Three more cases were reported from the Kong Tai cluster, involving staff members who tested positive at a quarantine centre.

Three cases were also linked to Bun Kee today, including a 33-year-old woman who visited the restaurant with her grandfather on Jul 1 and developed sore throat and myalgia four days later.

Another linked case is a 29-year-old man who did not go to Bun Kee, but his father did, on Jun 30 and Jul 2. The test result on the father is still being awaited.

The third patient visited Bun Kee, but also went to a sushi shop in Ping Shek Estate. He was tested after developing a cough and sore throat.

Another patient is the three-year-old son of the Hospital Authority’s IT staff who tested positive previously, but the source of his infection is still unknown.

 

The shuttered Bun Kee restaurant, where about a dozen new cases have been linked 

Two other cases are linked to the King Wing Restaurant at the River Trade Terminal in Tuen Mun, where a previously diagnosed patient who also worked at Sin Fun, was a cook.

But of the new local cases, eight have sparked concern because the source of the infection is not known. A number of similar cases were reported in recent days.

Pindutin para sa latest Winners!

“We have many cases without a definite source of infection and they cannot be linked to any imported cases…I think it’s worse than the situation in March when there were a lot of imported cases,” said Chuang.

These cases include an 82-year-old woman and her 85-year-old husband who live together in Tsz Wan Shan. The couple rarely went out, with the woman visiting only the wet market in the estate.

Another puzzling case is that of a 42-year-old woman who lives in To Kwa Wan and works in a restaurant in Jordan. Her case could not be linked to any previous infections.

Another case is a 72-year-old man who lives in Yuen Long. He went to consult a private doctor on Jul 4 after feeling tired, and started to cough.  He visited his son’s office in Cheung Sha Wan on Jul 6 and interacted with his colleagues. Earlier, he went to Ka Ka Ho restaurant on Castle Peak Road in Yuen Long with 14 family members.

Also among the new cases is a 12-year-old student who developed a sore throat on Jul 7, and played volleyball with a schoolmate who tested positive earlier.  During the incubation period, she swam in a public pool.

Also included is a 62-year-old woman who works part-time at Tsui Ho restaurant in Lam Tin and occasionally also did domestic work in two flats in Laguna City.

Another is a male clerk in Kwun Tong and lives in Tin Shui Wai. He went to the gym a couple of times and added family gatherings during the incubation period.

CALL US TO TRY!

Call us!

Call us now!

OFWs lament TikTok's pullout from HK

By The SUN

TikTok pulled out from Hong Kong after the national security law was passed

The past two days have seen many Filipinos in Hong Kong expressing sadness online about the disappearance of the wildly popular video-sharing app, TikTok, from their phones and computer screens.

Many of those who mourned TikTok’s pullout are overseas Filipino workers, who have found the mostly funny videos shared on the app as a much-needed balm for their aching bodies at the end of a long working day.

“So sad, tinanggal na ang TikTok sa app store, ano na kaya ang susunod?,” asked a member of the online group, Domestic Workers Corner.

Pindutin para sa detalye

Another said, “Di bale nang matanggal ang TikTok, huwag lang ang Facebook at messenger.”

Others encouraged TikTok followers to just shift to another video-sharing app, Likee. Some immediately took up the suggestion and were happy with the result, but another complained, “Panay mga Indonesian naman ang mga nandoon.”

Some enterprising OFWs found ways to still access the app, either by using a SIM card activated in the Philippines and set on roaming service, or using a VPN (virtual private network) which allows users to bypass region-restricted websites or apps.

Call now!

Rain Tuando, one of DWC’s administrators, said “Nagluluksa sila ma’am, wala ng TikTok. Puro Tiktok na lang pinag-uusapan nila sa gc (group chat). Yun lang daw po ang kaligayahan nila.”

While most embraced Tiktok for the funny videos shared by users, others liked it for the catchy tunes and dance steps posted by just about anyone, from celebrities to ordinary people; as well as the instructional clips that helped make some of their tasks easier and more fun.

The app enables users to use various tricks to make their videos more entertaining

TikTok became an instant hit with users because it allowed them to shoot, edit and share music and lip-sync videos of between 3 to 15 seconds, jazzed up with filters, music, animation, special effects, and other tricks. More experienced users can do short-looping videos of up to 60 seconds.

Pindutin para sa detalye!

Like with other social media apps, users can follow, like and comment on what is shared on the platform.

TikTok announced it was getting out of Hong Kong because of the new security law imposed by China which gives vast powers to authorities to monitor local users.

“In light of recent events, we’ve decided to stop operations of the TikTok app in Hong Kong,” the Chinese-owned firm said in a statement, becoming the first major social media platform to exit the city since the security law was imposed on Jul 1.

Tinghayan ang isa na namang kwentong Dream Love

Other internet giants like Facebook, Twitter and Google have put on hold requests for user data from Hong Kong authorities, citing the same reason.

TikTok’s move is ironic because it is owned by Chinese company ByteDance, and has been banned by India recently over national security concerns following a deadly border clash between its soldiers and Chinese forces.

The United States has also threatened to ban Chinese social media apps including Tiktok over allegations that they are being used to spy on users.

But TikTok has repeatedly denied sharing any user information with Chinese authorities.

CALL US TO TRY!

Call us!

Call us now!