Tests widened in boarding house, container port as 74 new Covid-19 cases reported

By Vir B. Lumicao

Residents of the Mong Kok building will be tested after another FDH who stayed there was found infected

Hong Kong has moved to contain the spread of the novel coronavirus in two hotspots, a boarding house in Mong Kok and the Kwai Chung container port, as it reported 74 new infections today, Aug 16.

The new cases pushed up the city’s overall tally to 4,480, as the daily infections stayed under 100 for the 14th straight day. Two patients were reported to have passed away, taking the death toll to 69.

Dr Chuang Shuk-kwan of the Centre for Health Protection said four of the new cases were imported, including a foreign domestic helper from the Philippines, and three returnees from India.

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Of the 70 local cases, 34 are linked to an outbreak at the Kwai Chung container port, in particular, at Wang Kee & Company. More than 3,000 specimen bottles have been sent for distribution to staff at the container port, where a total of 55 cases have been detected so far, 41 of them at Wang Kee.

Also of particular concern is Cheung Hing Mansion in Mong Kok, where another Indonesian domestic worker who had stayed there tested positive today.

The 28-year-old domestic worker lived on the second floor of the building from mid until end of July, along with four other Indonesian helpers, before moving in with her new employer at Fung Tak Estate in Diamond Hill on Aug 1.

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At least two other Indonesian workers who had stayed in another boarding house on the ninth floor of the building had tested positive earlier.

Another case that might be linked to the dormitory cluster has reportedly tested preliminary positive. “Let’s see if this will turn to a confirmed case,” Chuang said.

Although asymptomatic, the Indonesian helper was reportedly submitted for testing by the agent that placed her with the new employer. After the helper tested positive, Chuang said the employer and his family will be sent to quarantine.

 

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Upon investigation, the authorities found out that the person in charge of the second floor unit was also managing the ninth floor unit where the previous infections had occurred.

“We are worried because the person in charge is not very cooperative,” said Chuang. She added that a family member of the person in charge had tested positive previously so the entire family had to be quarantined.

“Cheung Hing is still under investigation. It’s not too cooperative. We have to ask for further details. We’re quite worried about the building, so bottles will be distributed to all occupants of the whole building,” Chuang said.

When asked by a reporter on what to do with the person in charge, Chuang said he is now in a quarantine center for a test. She said the mode of operation of the boarding houses is that boarders are not registered so it will be futile to enforce the law to compel the person in charge to produce the records.

As for other boarding houses the person in charge is operating, she said the CHP is working with the police so it may be able to find out the details.

She said some helpers were still in the second-floor unit and might be quarantined and tested. Some who might have left would have to be traced, she said.

 

3,000 sample bottles will be distributed to staff at Kwai Chung container port, site of a major outbreak

As for Wang Kee, Chuang described it as a major outbreak area where more than 100 workers use the staff room every day to rest, eat their meals and take a shower.

Of the 34 new cases from the container port today, 33 worked at Wang Kee, while the other is still in intensive care so her company affiliation has yet to be determined. But her husband reportedly told investigators that she worked as a dispatcher at the container terminal

As a result of the outbreak, the CHP official said Wang Kee’s over 1,000 workers have to be put under quarantine. She urged that the company stop operations for a while so disinfection could be carried out.

Dr Linda Yu from the Hospital Authority said that as of 9am today, 80 confirmed patients in 20 hospitals were discharged from hospital in the last 24 hours, raising the total recoveries to 3,549.
    
She said 761 confirmed patients are in 20 public hospitals, at Lei Yue Mun  community isolation facility and at the AsiaWorld treatment facility. Of these, 27 are in critical condition, 42 are in serious condition and the remaining 692 patients in stable condition.

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In search of Castle Peak’s hidden loaf

By Vir B. Lumicao

Author poses for this priceless shot after ignoring a warning about the difficult climb ahead

A warning sign at the beginning of the steep section of MacLehose Trail Stage 10 up the 583-meter-high Castle Peak in Tuen Mun was clear:  “This section is very difficult and suitable only for experienced and well-equipped hikers. Do not attempt it in bad weather. You use this trail entirely at your own risk and the government is absolved from all liabilities in respect of any personal injury (whether fatal or otherwise)…”

I did not bother to finish reading the caveat because, at 11m on June 27, the sun was blazing above the trees and humidity was high. The current temperature was 32 degrees Celsius.

Looking for four female hiking buddies who had set out on the trail about two hours earlier, I climbed the steep, narrow concrete stairway in a blistering pace, huffing and breathing heavily as I wanted to catch up with them before they reached the summit.

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Travel writers and hikers estimate the hike at 6.5 kilometers taking a total of four hours, including stops for photo-taking and rest. But those are obviously wintertime estimates, the best time to climb one of Hong Kong’s three most dangerous peaks.

It was summer at its hottest on the day we hiked and the government had issued a very hot weather warning. The sun was already searing my back at 10am, when I started the nearly 2km walk from the Tuen Mun MTR station to the Heung Hoi Ming Shan Memorial Archway, the gateway to Castle Peak.  

A few more flights of steeper stairs zigzagging randomly from the warning sign on the mountain’s craggy eastern face and soon I heard the boisterous banter of my buddies, fellow veterans of several hikes on Hong Kong’s famous peaks.

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In two minutes, I joined them for a quick snack in a little shade beside the trail. At 11:30am a blanket of nimbus clouds was slowly drifting towards the mountain, so, we resumed our hike. It would be risky if the rain came with a thunderstorm, as there was no shelter and we were still 200 meters away from the top.

Rain fell, indeed, but it was just a passing shower cooling the heat our bodies absorbed early in the hike. Half an hour later, we were on the ridge, which was wide enough for about 30 people stopping to rest, take photos and enjoy views of Tuen Mun and its villages spread at the eastern foot of Castle Peak.

On the mountain’s rear, the view was less awesome, but Shenzhen, the sprawling sister-city of Hong Kong across the border, was visible. It was only about 3km across Shenzhen Bay.

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The intrepid among us went about 60 meters further up the slope to the summit, which was occupied by a government telecommunications tower.

From there, we had a 360-view of Tuen Mun, the wasteland of sand hills, craters and valleys behind Castle Peak. Visible were Sheung Shui and other parts of the New Territories, as well as parts of Kowloon, Hong Kong Island, and the outlying islands of Lantau and Lamma.    

Most visitors to Castle Peak turn back after reaching the summit. In contrast, our group was bent on going down to the valley where few hikers had gone to find the Bread Rock, a natural attraction on a rocky stream that proved to be a challenge.

Others who had been to the wasteland called it Moon Valley because of the uncommon terrain made up of barren ridges, thinly overgrown slopes, and deep gullies and craters gouged out of packed sandhills by weathering. The only cover was tiger grass, a few rhododendron shrubs, thorn bushes and vines.

Awesome view  from the top

We had no maps, so we relied on our hunches and consoled ourselves with the fact that we had brought enough food, water and a torch if ever we got lost. Old footprints we followed vanished where rain must have washed them away.

I was humming my granddaughter’s favorite nursery song, “Mommy Finger,” and warning my female buddies to beware of the trail surface as it was loose, slippery sand. I had just uttered my latest warning when my left foot slid and my left knee hit the ground.

In a split-second, I rolled thrice down the steep slope, grabbing grass and bushes to stop my fall. As the shocked women panicked, I crawled back to the trail. I dusted off my limbs and forehead then laughed as my buddies asked if I was hurt.

 “I’m fine,” I said, but I could not hide the bleeding gash above my left brow, a scratch on my left arm and a nasty laceration on my left knee. We resumed our hike in a minute with me reminded of the warning sign I had ignored. Then I continued to hum “Mommy…”

 

The long and difficult climb to the summit

We cut a path through shoulder-high bamboo grass down a slope until we reached a shady stream with cool, pristine water gurgling between rocks. We refilled out water bottles and rested for 15 minutes while nibbling snacks, then picked our way downstream between rocks and boulders in search of the Bread Rock.

We finally found our target after wandering for about an hour in a 2km loop on Moon Valley, slowed down by one of our buddies complaining of dizziness. Bread Rock, we realized later, was just about 500 meters downstream from where we followed a roundabout trail on dry land.

The loaf-like rock was apparently debris spewed out by an erupting undersea volcano some 120 million years ago in offshore Saikung. The massive eruption, according to volcanologists and geologists, created Kowloon and much of the New Territories including Tuen Mun.

Relieved and relaxed after finding our goal, we took another rocky trail that descended to Lum Kwu Tan Village for the bus ride back to the Tuen Mun MTR station. There we treated ourselves to ice cream at a 7-11 outlet before I took the train with the group, still humming my grand-daughter’s nursery song.

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3 newly arrived Filipinas and 1 Indonesian among 48 new Covid-19 cases

By Daisy CL Mandap

3 Filipina domestic workers who flew into HK on Friday tested positive during tests at the airport

Three Filipina domestic helpers who flew in from Manila on Thursday and should have presented a negative swab test result for Covid-19 before boarding their flights to Hong Kong were among 46 new positive cases reported today.

This was according to Dr Chuang Shuk-kwan of the Centre for Health Protection in the press briefing today, Aug 15.

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Asked yesterday about the apparently false negative results presented by a number of Filipinas who are found infected in Hong Kong, Dr Chuang said it was not that significant as they are still made to undergo tests on arrival.

“For all incoming foreign domestic helpers in high-risk countries, we need them to give a test report, but the policy here is we still hold them up until they test negative, so it does not make a difference,” she said.

The Filipinas were among seven imported cases. Three others were returnees from India, who also should have presented a negative rest result for Covid-19 before boarding their flights to Hong Kong, in line with travel restrictions put in place on Jul 25.

The seventh is an air crew staff who flew in from Australia via Singapore.

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Also among the new cases is an Indonesian domestic helper who tested preliminary positive yesterday while under quarantine. Case No 4401 had stayed in a boarding house on the seventh floor of Haven Court on Leighton Road in Causeway Bay, along with two other Indonesians who tested positive earlier.

Chuang said the Indonesian helper moved to Haven Court on Jul 29, and was joined there by the two previously infected patients. But between Jul 20 and 28, she lived in another boarding house at 32 Jardine’s Bazaar, also in Causeway Bay.

For the Haven Court residents, Chuang said everyone who was identified as close contacts of the previously infected helpers had all been located and tested. But she said they were still looking into any possible link to the Jardine’s Bazaar hostel.

 

Haven Court in Causeway Bay, where 3 infected Indonesian DHs had stayed 

Among the 39 local cases, 27 are linked to previous infections, and 24 of these involved family members and friends gathering together. The other 12 are from unknown sources.

The most notable among the local cases were the three new infections detected at the Kwai Chung container port, all of them staff of the Wang Kee & Company.

Including the three new cases, Chuang said there are now eight patients from that company, and another five who tested preliminary positive. She said the patient in charge of the company has already been contacted, and about 100 of its staff will be moved to quarantine centers.

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Chuang said the staff shared restrooms and changing rooms, and “that maybe the route for transmission.”

Asked if the drop in the number of cases could mean a relaxation of the stringent gathering restrictions imposed by the government, Chuang said she did not think so, citing the 12 cases whose source of infection is unknown.

She also said the daily cases are still higher than the peak number in the second wave, “so I don’t think there is room for relaxation.”

The day’s tally brought the overall infection rate in the city to 4,407, with about 30 other people testing preliminary positive.

One more elderly patient died over the past 24 hours, raising the death toll to 67. The patient was a 69-year-old man who succumbed at Pamela Youde Nethersole Eastern Hospital.

There are only 780 confirmed patients still in 20 public hospitals and the treatment facilities at Lei Yue Mun and the AsiaWorld-Expo. Twenty-seven are in critical condition, 47 are serious, and 706 are stable.

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HK sees further decline in economy this year due to Covid-19

By The SUN

The recent surge in Covid-19 cases has further dimmed the outlook for HK this year 

The Hong Kong government says it expects to see a 6% to 8% decline in the economy for this year due to heavy blows from the coronavirus pandemic.

Government economist Andrew Au said the forecast was revised downward from the 4% to 7% projected in late April, when the economy showed signs of stabilizing after the local epidemic situation had improved.

But the combined impact of the record decline in the first half of the year, the difficult and uncertain economic environment in the second half, and the government’s massive relief measures to cushion the impact of the pandemic, made the downgrade inevitable.

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“If the current wave of local infection can be contained within a short time and barring any further sharp deterioration in the external environment, economic performance for 2020 as a whole can hopefully fall within the upper half of the range forecast,” Au said.

He said that if the economy contracts this year, as it did in 2019, it would be the first back-to-back annual GDP drop (or two consecutive yearly decline) for Hong Kong since record-keeping began in 1961.

The grim figures highlighted Au’s mid-year economic report that the government released today, Aug 14, along with the revised second-quarter GDP figures.

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The city’s gross domestic product slumped 9% in the second quarter from the same period last year, after a record decline of 9.1% in the first. Private consumption also fell by a record 14.2 percent.

But the rebound of China’s economy helped offset part of the downward pressures on exports of goods, the report said.

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Exports of financial services also grew moderately, thanks to active cross-border financial and fund-raising activities.

On the inflation outlook, the report said that with the impact of the surge in pork prices since May last year having largely dissipated, inflationary pressures will likely ease further for the rest of the year.

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Au said the government will continue to closely monitor the situation and roll out measures as necessary to maintain the vitality of the economy and pave the way for a speedy recovery once the threat of the pandemic recedes.

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48 new Covid-19 cases include 2 confirmed & 1 preliminary positive Indo maids

By The SUN

The Indonesian helper who stayed in the Mongkok dormitory submitted herself for testing (file photo)

An Indonesian domestic worker who volunteered to have herself tested after hearing about the infections in a Mong Kok boarding house she had stayed at, is one of two new cases involving foreign domestic helpers today, Aug 14.

The other Indonesian worker who tested positive stayed in another boarding house in Tsuen Wan, and had been moved to a quarantine center.

A third Indonesian who stayed in another infected dormitory in Causeway Bay also tested preliminary positive today while under quarantine.

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The three cases were disclosed by Dr Chuang Shuk-kwan of the Centre for Health Protection during a press briefing, in which she announced that there were 48 new Covid-19 patients, including two imported ones.

One of the imported cases was another Ethiopian pilot who went to Brazil and Africa before flying to Hong Kong, the second such case in two days. The other case was a student returning from India.

According to Dr Chuang, the Indonesian helper who volunteered to be tested had stayed in a boarding house on the ninth floor of Cheung Hing building in Mong Kok, after leaving her previous employer on Jul 28.

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The maid claimed she found the boarding house online, and didn’t know any of the six other helpers who were there with her. While staying there, the infected maid visited several employment agencies in Central to look for a new employer.

Asked if any close contacts had been found in the agency offices the helper visited, Chuang said their investigation into the case was still ongoing.

She repeated her appeal to employers who recently hired FDWs to have their helpers tested, especially if they stayed in the Mong Kok dormitory whose landlord is still being sought.

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One other Indonesian helper who had stayed in the unit, along with a family member of the one running the place, previously tested positive for Covid-19.

The first patient said she had stayed there along with eight other Indonesians, but the dormitory keeper denied that the unit was being rented out. The CHP has asked the police’s help in tracking down the landlord and the other tenants.

 

Six Indonesian maids who stayed in a boarding house in this Tsuen Wan building have been infected

The second infected maid had stayed in a boarding house run by David Cheung Employment Agency on Heung Wo street in Tsuen Wan, where five other Indonesian DHs had tested positive earlier.

The third maid who tested preliminary positive today had stayed in a dormitory on the seventh floor of Haven Court on Leighton Road in Causeway Bay where two other Indonesian tenants tested positive earlier.

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So far, 13 Indonesian DHs from this cluster have tested positive for Covid-19.

Shortly after the press conference, a government press release said a third Covid-19 patient had died at the Pamela Youde Nethersole Eastern Hospital. The 69-year-old man was admitted on Jul 30, and his condition deteriorated rapidly, until he passed away at 4:58 today.

The death toll now stands at 67. In the 24 hours previously, three elderly patients also passed away in various hospitals.

The total number of confirmed cases as of today is 4,361 with 30 other patients testing preliminary positive.

Of these, only 892 remain in various hospitals, and at the treatment facilities in Lei Yue Mun and AsiaWorld-Expo. Thirty are in critical condition, 48 are serious, and the rest are stable.

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Re-opening of schools in Philippines moved to Oct 5

By The SUN

 

All Philippine schools will now open on Oct 5 instead of Aug. 24 (Asia Foundation photo)

Schools across the Philippines will now open on Oct 5, as the country’s two leading regions are not yet ready because they are under modified emergency community quarantine until Aug 18, the Department of Education said.

Speaking in a virtual press briefing, Education Secretary Leonor Briones said President Rodrigo Duterte has approved her recommendation to defer the opening of School Year 2020-2021 to give the National Capital Region and Region 4A enough time to prepare.

“As per the memorandum of the President, he has given approval to the recommendation of DepEd which, I repeat, we submitted last Aug 8. Thus, we will now implement such a decision to defer school opening to Oct 5,” Briones said.

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Malacañang Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea issued a memorandum today to Briones informing her that Duterte had approved the deferment, about a month and a half later than the initial schedule.

Classes were initially slated to open Aug 24, but several lawmakers and groups urged the DepEd to delay the start to so there will be more time to prepare for the transition to blended learning.

This refers to studying from home with the use of learning modules provided by schools for their students to download online. It was devised by educators to complement actual classes that were seriously disrupted by the current Covid-19 pandemic.

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Briones said the National Capital Region and Region 4A, or Calabarzon, where 65% of the country’s economic activity is based, are having problems with their preparations due to the MECQ that will last until Aug 18.

The NCR or Metro Manila, Calabarzon comprising Laguna, Rizal, Batangas, Cavite and Quezon provinces, as well as Bulacan in Region 3, have sought to delay the opening of classes.

 “We shall use the deferment to provide relief to the logistical limitations faced by the areas placed under MECQ and to fill in the remaining gaps of the school opening that we are currently addressing,” Briones said.

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The President signed a law recently that allows for adjusting the start of the school year beyond August in the event of an emergency or calamity.

Under Republic Act 11480, the President, upon recommendation of the Secretary of Education, has the power to set at any date the opening of classes nationwide or in selected affected areas as the situation requires.

RA 11480 amended RA 7797, which set the opening of classes as early as the first Monday of June but not later than the last day of August.

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 “We trust that this is the final adjustment of the school opening. Even with the implementation of MECQ, we will use this time to make the necessary adjustments and ensure that all preparations have been made for the successful opening of classes for School Year 2020-2021,” Briones said.

She said the postponement of school opening applies to both public and private schools. She admitted that private schools, many of which have already started classes, may continue their calendar provided they follow existing community quarantine guidelines.

Briones said that although private schools have their own operational plans, they fall under the umbrella of the DepEd and have to comply with its policies as well as the requirements of the MECQ or of the Department of Health.

She said areas outside MECQ were directed to continue orientations, dry runs, and delivery of learning resources for the Oct 5 opening.

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Migrants accuse police of discrimination by enforcing 5pm curfew on Sunday

By Daisy CL Mandap

Cheung says it didn't make sense that police enforcing the gathering ban came by the dozen

Leaders of foreign domestic workers have accused the Hong Kong Police of discrimination and harassment for allegedly telling them to get off their usual hangouts last Sunday, Aug 9, and ordering them to go home by 5pm.

The police took action in the wake of an outbreak of Covid-19 cases in several dormitories where Indonesian domestic workers had stayed.

But during an online press conference today, Aug. 14, the Asian Migrants Coordinating Body called the police action last Sunday discriminatory and a violation of their right to free assembly.

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“Hong Kong police ordering on Sunday the foreign domestic workers to go home at 5pm to vacate their place of stay is not only violative of our rights but also discriminatory, singling out the FDWs,” said the statement read out by AMCB spokesperson Sringatin.

She said the police should realize that FDWs are given 24 hours of rest, and if they are made to return to their employers’ homes they would be forced to work.

Sringatin also pointed out that based on documented reports, it is usually the employer who passes on the virus to a helper, and not the other way around.

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AMCB chair Dolores Balladares Pelaez said they would send a complaint letter to the Commissioner of Police about the incident. They would also tell members not to be intimidated and to go back to their usual meeting places.

“This coming Sunday we are planning to tell our members to go back to assert their right to be there (meeting place),” said Pelaez.

 

Pelaez holds up a poster addressed to police and individuals who unfairly label FDHs as virus spreaders

Labour Party Legislator Fernando Cheung backed the migrants’ demand, and said that if the government does not want FDWs to congregate in parks and other open spaces, they should open community halls to them on their rest days.

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Cheung had earlier called for holiday camps to be opened for migrants who are in-between jobs so the cramped dormitories and boarding houses where they are forced to stay would be less crowded.

The lawmaker said he would write to the Home Affairs Department himself to make both proposals official.

He also scored the police for the arrests of a number of FDWs last Sunday for allegedly violating the rule that no more than two people should be together in a public place, and the one that makes the wearing of masks outdoors compulsory.

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Cheung said “it did not make sense” to limit the number of people gathering in public spaces, pointing out that the officers themselves came in groups of around a dozen when they carried out the enforcement operation.

“Why were they not afraid (of infection)?”, asked the lawmaker.

A police spokeswoman had informed The SUN on Monday that 16 Filipino domestic workers were arrested last Sunday in Central and Tseung Kwan O for violating the gathering ban and the rule requiring the public to wear masks outdoors.

Cheung said police should exercise discretion in enforcing the social distancing rule, and that their action should be more informative rather than punitive.

Two FDWs, an Indonesian and Filipino, gave testimony about the police crackdown last Sunday, while another Filipina helper related that she decided to leave her employer’s house because she had been prevented from taking a day-off since December last year.

Also at the press conference was Johannie Tong, community relations officer of the Mission for Migrant Workers, who said they received reports from migrant workers who were stalked not just by the police but also by individuals who took photos of them while they were taking their day-off.

Tong said the targeting of migrant workers was unfortunate, as it reinforced the discriminatory notion that they are potential virus-spreaders.

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