9th Covid-19 death reported, along with 56 new confirmed and preliminary cases

By The SUN

Two recent fatalities were residents of Kong Tai elderly home, shown here being disinfected (TheStandard photo)

A 90-year-old female resident of a virus-plagued elderly home in Tsz Wan Shan passed away this afternoon, Jul 15, becoming the ninth patient to die from Covid-19 complications in Hong Kong.

According to Dr. Lau Ka-hin, chief manager of the Hospital Authority, the elderly resident of the Kong Tai Care for the Aged home, was reported to have died at 4:45pm at the Pamela Youde Nethersole Eastern Hospital in Chai Wan.

The patient, who had diabetes, was admitted to the hospital on Jul 9 with no symptoms, but her condition turned critical yesterday.

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She was the second patient from the elderly home to succumb to the disease. On Monday, a 95-year-old female resident of the care home also died, becoming the city’s eighth fatality from the disease.

At today’s press briefing, Dr Chuang Shuk-kwan of the Centre for Health Protection also reported 19 new confirmed cases, and 37 preliminary positive ones, meaning, they need to test positive a second time to be classified as confirmed.

Asked if this indicated a significant drop in the number of people getting infected in Hong Kong, Dr Chuang urged caution, saying “the reason I am giving you the preliminary positive cases is because I don’t want to give you that false impression.”

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She said many of the preliminary positives could be confirmed later on in the evening, indicating that the recent spike of between 40-50 cases per day is far from over.

Of the 19 positive cases, five were imported, or were brought in by people who recently arrived in the city.

Among these are two seafarers from the Philippines, and two domestic workers, one of whom was due to start working in Hong Kong for the first time. The first arrived via Hong Kong Airlines, and the other, on Philippine Airlines.

The fifth infected new arrival was an air crew on a flight that came from India.

Half of the new local cases are linked to earlier cases, but half were again of unknown source.

 

The Tsz Wan Shan estate, where a big number of the recent cases were detected

Among the linked cases is the male employer of a Filipina domestic worker in Tsz Wan Shan who tested positive yesterday.

Another cluster involves a 44-year-old cook at Windsor Restaurant in Tsz Wan Shan, who was found infected along with her two daughters, aged 17 and 19.

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Also linked to a previous case is that of 1 57-year-old booking officer at the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department, whose husband tested positive earlier.

A third immigration officer assigned to the Immigration Tower in Wanchai was also included in the new cases. The 43-year-old female officer worked on the same floor as two of her colleagues who were found infected earlier.

Special mention was made of three elderly patients at Queen Elizabeth Hospital who tested positive for the virus. The first patient, a 92-year-old woman, was confirmed to have the disease on Monday.

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Since then two other patients who stayed in the same ward were also found to have the virus. One is a 77-year-old woman who was in a bed across the first patient, and the second is a 64-year-old cancer patient.

The cases have led calls for elderly patients to be tested for the virus before being admitted to hospitals for unrelated ailments, even if they are asymptomatic.

Lau said that current health protocols require residents in all care homes and those who are in mental wards to be given tests even if they do not show symptoms.

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Residents born in ‘62-63 should replace HKID cards from Jul 28

By The SUN

The new Hong Kong ID.

The Immigration Department announced today, Jul 12 that all Hong Kong residents born in 1962 or 1963 should apply for a new smart identity card in person at a Smart Identity Card Replacement Centre (SIDCC) from July 28 (Tuesday) to September 22 (Tuesday).

The SIDCCs are open from Monday to Saturday, from 8am to 10pm (except public holidays).

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The territory-wide ID card replacement covers all Hong Kong residents, who should apply in person at SIDCCs during their specified periods, whether they are permanent residents or non-permanent residents on employment, investment, dependant or study visas.

Eligible applicants may make appointment bookings via the Internet (www.gov.hk/newicbooking), Immigration’s mobile application or the 24-hour telephone booking hotline 2121 1234. 

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To make an appointment via the Internet or to download the mobile application, please scan the QR codes (see Annex II). The ImmD appeals to applicants to pre-fill the application form when making appointment bookings through the Internet or mobile application in order to enjoy faster service. Applicants need to bring along their old ID cards on their appointment dates.

A caring arrangement is in place, under which each eligible applicant for identity card replacement may bring along up to two persons with disabilities, or aged 65 or above, so they can have their ID cards replaced at the same time.

For Hong Kong residents born in 1957 to 1961, their specified period for identity card replacement will end on Jul 27 (Monday). Those who have not applied for a new identity card should do so as early as possible in order to avoid a last-minute rush.

If eligible Hong Kong residents are absent from Hong Kong during their call-up period, they can apply within 30 days of their return to Hong Kong.

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For details of the HKID card replacement exercise, please visit the website  www.smartid.gov.hk or call the enquiry hotline 2824 6111.

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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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