Covid-19 pre-testing for FDHs now a law, but no details yet

By Daisy CL Mandap

Filipino domestic workers will be required to test negative in Manila before flying to HK

The Hong Kong government has formally announced that foreign domestic helpers from the Philippines and Indonesia, as well as travelers from what it calls “high-risk” places, must show a negative result for Covid-19 test before being allowed to fly in.

Among the places identified as “high-risk” in a press release issued by the government today, Jul 14, are Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, Nepal and South Africa.

Also to be required to show a negative test result are crew of airlines and ships, who are exempted from the mandatory 14-day quarantine, but were only recently required to undergo testing on arrival at the borders.

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However, it is still unclear if the list is inclusive, or when the regulation will take effect, or which particular agencies are allowed to issue the negative test certificate. 

The statement merely states that the clearance must come from a "recognized laboratory". It also says that the Secretary for Food and Health “will issue directions on the above matters in due course.”

According to the statement, the pre-testing of certain travelers is being required because of the big number of imported cases recorded lately. Between Jul 7 and 13 alone, 55 imported cases were recorded.

 

All new arrivals from Pakistan must also show a negative test result before being allowed entry 

“The sources of these cases are mainly arrivals from places with high risk of Covid-19,  such as Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, Nepal and South Africa, as well as foreign domestic helpers from the Philippines and Indonesia,” said the statement.

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To prevent imported cases, the statement said there is a need to impose conditions on travelers coming to Hong Kong “to reduce the health risk they may bring.

These conditions may include restrictions that are based on the travelers’ originating place, such as those deemed “high risk,” or based on their job or occupation, such as airline or ship crew, or domestic helpers.

Yesterday, Chief Executive Carrie Lam also formally announced that all FDHs will now have to quarantine in a hotel, instead of their employers' home.

Apart from the negative result certificate, the government may also require the operator of the aircraft or vessel to provide information that may include the health information of the travelers on board.

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The passengers, in turn, may be required to provide information about their health condition, travel history, as well as the Covid-19 test result.

If any of the specified conditions is not met in relation to any traveler, a health officer may prohibit the aircraft or vessel from landing or entering Hong Kong.

In addition, the operator of the conveyance may be charged, and upon conviction, pay a penalty of up to $50,000 and imprisonment for six months.

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As for travelers, those who knowingly or recklessly provide information that is false or misleading may, on conviction, be fined up to $10,000 and imprisoned for six months.

The new regulations are contained in the Prevention and Control of Disease (Regulation of Cross-boundary Conveyances and Travellers) Regulation (Cap. 599H) which takes effect on Wednesday, Jul 15, with the  implementing guidelines to be issued subsequently.

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Some of $543k worth of jewelry allegedly stolen by Filipina gone, court told

By Vir B. Lumicao

Among the items allegedly stolen was a Piaget necklace like this one (file photo)

Some pieces of the $543,000 worth of assorted jewelry allegedly stolen by a Filipino domestic helper from her employer in Shek O can no longer be recovered, the Eastern Court was told today, Jul 14.

This was disclosed by the prosecution as the defendant, Margie C. Tagulao, appeared before Magistrate Bina Chainrai for an update on her case.

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Tagulao, 41, was accused of stealing various pieces of jewelry from the house of her employer, Yuen Lai-ka, on Big Wave Bay Road between Jan 1 and Jun 9 this year.

Police investigators said the stolen items included a Piaget necklace, a diamond brooch, a pair of pearl earrings, a pair of diamond earrings, a sapphire necklace, a Bulgari necklace, a pair of rose pattern earrings, and a necklace with a diamond cross pendant.

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The defendant has been held without bail since her arrest on Jun 9.

Chainrai granted the prosecution’s request for a four-week adjournment of the case for further legal advice and gathering of evidence.

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The magistrate adjourned the hearing until Aug 11 and ordered the defendant remanded in custody.

Meanwhile, another Filipina helper who was accused of stealing $80,000 cash that her employer kept in safe boxes inside her Quarry Bay flat appeared before Chainrai today.

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The prosecution said Marites Borines, who is in police custody, was ready for plea but the defense had asked for an adjournment until Aug 24 to submit some document.

Chainrai adjourned the case until Aug 25 and ordered Borines remanded in custody.

Borines was alleged to have taken the cash between May 1 and Jun 28 inside the flat of her employer Chan Wai-kit, at Tower 1 in Kornville, Quarry Bay.

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3 other helpers linked to alleged $14.6 million theft

By Vir B. Lumicao

 

The 3 helpers allegedly helped Nones pawn some of the stolen jewelry

Three Filipina domestic helpers appeared in Eastern Court today, Jul 14, on charges of helping pawn the nearly $15 million dollars worth of jewelry and gold bars that their friend and relative, Carmelita Nones, allegedly stole from her employers.

Maricris G. Nones, said to be Carmelita’s niece; along with Cristina N. Alagna, face 12 charges of handling stolen goods. A third defendant, Marina G. Biala, face one count of the same charge.

All four are being held in custody without bail.

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The prosecution told Magistrate Bina Chainrai that it has already consolidated the case against 45-year-old Carmelita, which is expected to go the High Court because of the huge amount involved.

As a result, Carmelita’s guilty plea that she made on Nov 29 last year, when the value of her alleged loot was just over $1 million, was set aside.

The prosecution did not give particulars of the new charges, but merely said it was re-amending the first theft charge against the defendant, and also amended charges 2 and 6. Four other charges were withdrawn.

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The prosecutor told Chainrai no plea would be taken from Maricris, Alagna and Biala. She also opposed bail for them, citing the serious nature of their offense. The magistrate upheld the petition.

Chainrai then set the next hearing of the case to Aug 24 in another court, pending its transfer to the Court of First Instance. She told the accused to apply for legal aid before the move.

The magistrate also ordered Carmelita back in custody pending the transfer of her own case to the CFI, said to be the biggest case of theft ever brought against a foreign domestic helper in Hong Kong.

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Nones was arrested on Sept 4, 2018 after her employer, business executive David Liang, reported to police that two gold Piaget watches worth a total of $200,000 that belonged to him and his wife were stolen between Jul 27 and Aug 11, 2018.

Liang said the watches went missing inside his home at 70 Deepwater Bay Road in Hong Kong Island South. He told the police Nones had admitted taking the watches.

In subsequent hearings, the prosecution said about $1.1 million worth of additional items including gold and diamond necklaces and bracelets belonging to Liang and his wife had been recovered from five pawnshops where Nones had pawned them.

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Nones pleaded guilty to the charges, but before Magistrate Lam Tsz-kan could sentence her, a female lawyer for the Liangs arrived and requested the court to wait as more jewelry pieces were said to be missing.

The value of the loot later increased to $4 million, and then $9 million, as more pawnshop receipts in the names of three other persons were recovered by investigators.

The prosecution said then that Nones had asked the three whose names appeared in the pawnshop receipts, to help her dispose of the items.

In the last hearing on Jun 30, the value of the alleged stolen items went up to $14.6 million, as the police reportedly discovered that a total of 200 jewelry items had been  stolen from the Liangs.

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48 new Covid-19 cases reported today, half of them with unknown source

By The SUN

Two of the FDHs who tested positive today live in Tsz Wan Shan

Government health experts have expressed alarm at the widening spread of Covid-19 cases in Hong Kong, with half of the 48 new cases reported today, Jul 14, with no known source.

Of the new cases, eight are imported, and they include at least four Filipinos: one 52-year-old seaman, and three domestic helpers.

The seaman and two of the helpers, aged 32 and 40, arrived via Cathay CX 906 flight from Manila yesterday.

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The third, a 30-year-old domestic helper, tested positive along with her 67-year-old female employer, one day after the elderly woman’s son who lives with them in Tsz Lok Estate in Tsz Wan Shan, was found infected.

Another foreign domestic helper whose nationality was not disclosed, also tested positive. She often went to the market, also in the heavily infested Tsz Wan Shan district. Her employer’s family is now being tested while under quarantine.

Dr Chuang Shuk-kwan of the Centre for Health Protection said the growing number of new infections is a cause for concern, but more worrying was the number of cases with no known source spread out across most districts in the city.

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Since Jul 6, the number of local cases has ballooned to 202 today, with 78 of them coming from unknown source.

“Half of the reported cases today we have an unknown source, so it is very worrying because the cases can spread in the community, and also we do not have a definite source – that means there are a lot of unknown sources in the community that can spread easily, and they may be asymptomatic,” Chuang said.

They include today’s case of four family members living in Tsz Wan Shan, and a 19-year-old man who often walked around the district.

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The elderly home, Kong Tai Care for the Aged, which had several of its residents and staff falling ill, is located in the same district. Hong Kong’s eighth fatality, a 95-year-old woman who succumbed to complications from Covid-19 last night, was also a resident.

A 61-year-old female worker at Café de Coral in Choi Hung tested positive, along with her husband with whom she lives in Ngau Chi Wan. There were also two construction workers who worked and lived in different districts, and a cleaner at Prince of Wales Hospital, whose husband who drives a taxi part-time, was found infected earlier.

There were also several cases of concern.

 

Two immigration officers who both worked on the 14th floor of Immigration Tower in Wanchai also tested positive

One involves two immigration officers, a male and a female, who both work on the 14^th floor of the Immigration Tower in Wanchai. Their workplace has been disinfected, and health authorities are checking their close contacts.

Another is a 77-year-old patient at Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Yau Ma Tei who stayed in the same ward as a previously confirmed case.

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Dr Lau Ka Kin, chief manager of the Hospital Authority, said experts are still trying to find out the source of the infection.

The HA is looking into the case of a patient who underwent heart surgery at Princess Margaret Hospital who felt unwell a day after he was discharged, and subsequently tested positive for Covid-19.

A nurse who was attending to the patient when he coughed without a mask, as well as 14 patients who stayed in the same ward as him, have been quarantined as close contacts.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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