2 FDHs-1 Filipina and 1 Indonesian, among 18 new Covid-19 cases

By Daisy CL Mandap

The Indonesian lived in this building with her elderly employer until a neighbor was found infected

A newly arrived Filipina and an Indonesian whose source of infection is unknown, are among the 18 new Covid-19 cases recorded today, Aug 29.

According to the Centre for Health Protection’s Dr Chuang Shuk-kwan, the 37-year-old Filipina domestic worker tested positive on arrival from Manila yesterday.

This was despite the patient having presented a negative test result for the virus before boarding her flight to Hong Kong, in line with travel restrictions for those flying in from the Philippines.

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She was one of two imported cases today. The other one was a returnee from Pakistan who arrived on Aug 26 and tested positive while under quarantine.

The 45-year-old Indonesian DH, on the other hand, is among five local cases with untraceable source.

Dr Chuang said the maid lived with her elderly employer in Win Fong Heights in Kwai Chung, but after learning that a neighbor was found infected, they moved in with the employer’s daughter in Belvedere Gardens in Tsuen Wan.

After the maid tested positive, her employer as well as her daughter and granddaughter, were identified as her close contacts and will be put under medical observation while in quarantine.

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Also among the untraceable cases were a nurse at the private clinic of Dr Tse Kin-wah in Yuen Long, two retirees who live in Kwai Chung and Ngau Tau Kok Lower Estate, and a government engineer.

Of the 11 local cases linked to previous cases, two more emerged from the outbreak at the Hong Chi hostel for the mentally handicapped in Lei Muk Shue in Tsuen Wan. One is a 27-year-old staff member, while the other is a 43-year-old resident. More than a dozen people linked to the facility have tested positive for Covid-19.

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Today’s cases  brought the city’s total tally to 4,787, with 369 patients still receiving treatment in 18 public hospitals and at the community treatment facility at AsiaWorld-Expo.

Two more elderly patients with chronic condition passed away at Prince of Wales hospital in the past 24 hours, raising the death toll to 86. One was 63-year-old man who died at 8:15pm last night, and the other was a 98-year-old woman who passed away at 1:02pm earlier today.

Chuang says the 117,000 who registered for universal testing by noon today is 'a good number'

Asked for a reaction to reports that about 117,000 people signed up for universal testing within five hours of the online application being opened at 7am today, Dr Chuang said it was “a good number.”

She said people should take the chance to get themselves tested to break the chain of transmission within the community.

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The actual tests will start on Tuesday, Sept. 1, with 141 makeshift centres being opened across 18 districts to take samples from applicants. The taking of samples will last until Sept.7, and depending on demand, could be extended for another week.

The offer of a one-off test is open to all of Hong Kong’s 7.5 million residents on a voluntary basis. Foreign domestic workers are encouraged to go with their employers when taking the test.

To make an appointment for the test, register at www.communitytest.gov.hk.

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Signing up for universal testing to start at 7am tomorrow

By The SUN

 

Key government officials bare details of the universal testing, and urge all residents to take part

Government officials have again urged residents to sign up for the universal community testing for Covid-19 which starts on Sept 1, as they unveiled details of the scheme today, Aug 28.

All residents can sign up for the test starting at 7am tomorrow, Saturday, by logging in to a dedicated website: https://www.communitytest.gov.hk/. Foreign domestic workers are being encouraged to join their employers in taking part in the exercise.

The mass testing will last for seven days, but depending on demand, could be extended for another week.

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“For yourself, your loved ones, our hardworking medical staff and the wider community, you should join the testing,” Secretary for the Civil Service Patrick Nip said at the press conference this morning.

                                                                                  

A total of 141 makeshift testing sites have been set up across 18 districts, made up mostly of government-run schools, community halls and sports centres. They will be open from 8am to 8pm to take samples for the entire duration of the exercise

Other centres include the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre in Wan Chai,  International Trade and Exhibition Centre in Kowloon Bay, Science Park in Sha Tin, MacPherson Stadium in Mong Kok and Queen Elizabeth Stadium in Wan Chai.

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Among the government schools on the list are the North Point, Shau Kei Wan and Hennesy Road primary schools; Kwun Tong, Tin Shui Wai, Tuen Mun secondary schools; as well as Queen’s College.

Among the districts, Yuen Long has the most number of centres with 14, while Islands district is on the other end, with just one.

Nip again explained that those who test negative for Covid-19 would receive their results via text message within three days, while those whose result is positive would get a call from the Department of Health.

 

Promotional video shows social distancing protocols that will be followed during the mass testing

Secretary for Food and Health Sophia Chan also called on the public to join the testing exercise, saying “this is a very important prevention measure, the purpose (of which) is to identify those carrying the virus for early treatment, and to stop the spread of the virus in the community.”

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Chan said that in the early stage of the outbreak, between January and June, only 350 tests were carried out, but since the third wave began in mid-July until today, about 950,000 tests have been conducted.

About half, or 420,000 of these tests were administered to those in high-risk groups such as care home staff, taxi and bus drivers, as well as market vendors.

But she said universal testing is necessary to detect the silent carriers and break the invisible transmission in the community.

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To prepare for additional cases that might be detected from the mass testing, Chan said 1,250 isolation beds and 500 second-tier beds in isolation wards have been readied, as well as about 1,000 additional beds in the community treatment facility at AsiaWorld-Expo.

On top of these, she said 350 tier-2 isolation beds are on standby at the Lei Yue Mun treatment center to admit recovering patients and those in stable condition.

Both Nip and Chan thanked about 6,000 health personnel, including doctors, nurses, and even teachers and students at medical schools who have expressed their willingness to take part in the exercise.

Nip said flexible arrangements will be implemented to allow civil servants to go and take the test during office hours. Private businesses have also been asked to allow their employees to do the same.

Thomas Chan, permanent secretary for food and health, said up to 600 mainlanders would be involved in lab testing, while sample collection would be done by Hongkongers.

But Nip again said there was no reason to fear privacy as personal data collected for testing would be encrypted and stored in government servers. Testing agencies would be able to see only codes on the sample bottles.

All information from people who test negative would remain in Hong Kong and would be destroyed after a month.

Dr Constance Chan, director of health, said the community testing scheme was designed for asymptomatic carriers of the virus. Those with symptoms should not take the test and should consult a doctor instead.

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NGO helps reunite HK-born baby with his migrant mom

By Vir B. Lumicao

 

Gurtin shows a mother and son helped by PathFinders in her mid-year video report

A baby boy born in Hong Kong has been successfully saved by a nongovernmental organization from being separated forever from his Indonesian mother.

The rescue nearly after a year of separation between mother and child highlighted the accomplishments in the first half this year of PathFinders Hong Kong Ltd, a charity with a mission to protect distressed migrant women and their children in the city.

Chief executive officer Catherine Gurtin said in a video report that soon after the baby’s birth, a local businessman who offered the maid a job and promised to put her and her child in a boarding house.

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Meanwhile, he sent the mother to Macau, purportedly to talk to an agency that could her secure her work visa, Gurtin said. The man also asked for the baby’s birth documents, saying he’d help him get Hong Kong residency. He also promised to hire a caretaker and pay for napkins and milk powder.

But while in Macau, the mother found out the man had reneged on his promises and left the baby in the care of her friends.

“To her horror, she also found out that she couldn’t get a new work visa and that Hong Kong’s Immigration Department denied her re-entry. She had no choice but to go back to Indonesia,” Gurtin said.

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She said the mother stayed in touch with her friends and tried every way to reunite with her baby. Each time she asked the man to help send her baby to Indonesia, he would offer excuses, such as more time was needed to process documents.

After several months, the man asked the mother to sign a document granting him custody of the child. The mother became suspicious that he was intentionally keeping her son away from her. She approached PathFinders and its case manager sprang into action.

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“First, PathFinders asked the mother to authorize us to handle the case. Then we sought the assistance of the Indonesian Consulate to send its staff member to accompany the child on a flight to Indonesia,” Gurtin said. The mother and child were thus reunited.

“Without intervention, the child could have been lost to strangers or even a potential human trafficker forever. It is crucial for migrant mothers to be empowered with knowledge to protect themselves and their children, and to seek help when needed,” PathFinders said in a statement.

 

With help from supporters, the NGO managed to help 461 migrant women and their children in the first half of 2020 alone

Gurtin said that in the first half of 2020 alone, the NGO was able to help 461 babies, children and their migrant worker mothers.

She said this would not have been possible without the continued support from friends and donors, despite the double whammy dealt by Hong Kong’s sociopolitical unrest and the Covid-19 crisis.

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Another distressed migrant worker who has received help from PathFinders is a Filipina domestic worker named Sarah, who allegedly endured maltreatment by her cranky employer after learning she was pregnant.

In a youtube video uploaded by PathFinders, Sarah spoke of her misery under the woman she had agreed to work for, despite warnings from fellow workers that she was a bad boss.

Sarah said she was scolded constantly by the woman who got ballistic at every little mistake. The employer punished the maid by limiting or delaying her meals, gave her heavy work, barred her from going out or talking to neighbors, and even blamed her for getting pregnant.

Then came the coronavirus outbreak in January. Fearing the disease, the employer told Sarah to wear a mask and gloves and wrap herself in plastic all the time, as if she were a virus.

The daily bad-mouthing did not stop, forcing Sarah to tell the employer she was quitting. But the latter refused to let her go until her replacement had arrived from the Philippines.

When the other maid arrived, Sarah begged to be allowed to stay until her scheduled delivery on Sept 27, but the employer drove her out.

Luckily, she discovered PathFinders, which immediately took her in while she was desperately looking for a shelter. “I am grateful that I am here in the shelter with the help of PathFinders,” Sarah said.

Also among the pregnant mothers who have found refuge in Pathfinders is Widi, an Indonesian helper who found out that she was pregnant while in-between jobs.

Widi had already found a new employer when she discovered she was pregnant after feeling unwell while at the Immigration Department to obtain a new work visa. She wanted to keep the baby but her boyfriend urged her to get an abortion.

Confused and afraid to inform the agency and her future employer, Widi stayed in a boarding house, spending her savings on food, accommodation, doctor visits and remittances to her family in Indonesia until she became broke.

She heard about PathFinders from a friend when she had already overstayed for two weeks. The NGO’s case manager helped and encouraged Widi to surrender and move into PathFinders’ shelter.

Widi is eager to go home to her family, but the cost of an air ticket has skyrocketed. When she recorded her story, she said her mom was critically ill, and she was hoping to be with her soon.  But soon after that recording she found out that her mom had died.

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13 new Covid-19 cases reported, as late reporting seen behind 1 death

By Daisy CL Mandap

CHP records show the patient developed symptoms 10 days before he was rushed to hospital, where he died within hours.

A failure to immediately detect the spread of Covid-19 in a family in Tseung Kwan-O appears to have led to the death of one member last Wednesday.

This emerged as Hong Kong health officials reported 13 new cases today, Aug 28, the second lowest tally since early July. Last Monday, only 9 cases were recorded.

Today’s cases included three imported, and 10 locally acquired. Seven of the local cases were linked to previous infections, while three were of unknown source.

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Among those linked today were three members of a family in Tseung Kwan-O, including the 59-year-old father who died in hospital on Wednesday before he could be classified as a confirmed case.

Investigations showed the patient had been sick for 10 days before he was rushed to hospital, already critically ill. Other family members developed symptoms even earlier.

The deceased's infection was confirmed today, along with that of his 54-year-old wife, who works as a delivery worker for Food Panda; and their 30-year-old son.

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Records released by the Centre for Health Protection showed that the wife had the earliest onset of symptoms on Aug. 12, followed by the son the next day. The father developed symptoms on Aug 16, but for some reason, did not seek immediate medical attention.

He was rushed to TKO Hospital on Aug 26 in critical condition and had to be resuscitated, then intubated, to no avail. After his death, samples taken by doctors showed he was preliminary positive for the virus.

According to CHP’s Dr Chuang Shuk-kwan at today’s daily press briefing, tests done on another son and a daughter of the couple yielded negative results for the virus. But both were found to have developed antibodies.

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“One of the sons has antibodies, so maybe that patient was a cryptic patient so he could be the source,” said Dr Chuang.

She also allayed fears that the mother could have passed on the virus during her food deliveries, saying the patient always wore masks so her customers were not classified as close contacts.

Also among the linked cases is another resident at a hostel for mentally disabled people in Lei Muk Shue estate in Kwai Chung. A second resident tested preliminary positive.

Residents of the Lei Muk Shue care home have been moved to the treatment facility at AsiaWorld-Expo

There are altogether more than a dozen infections detected at the facility, including both staff and residents. All the 50 or so staff have been put in quarantine centers, while the residents have been moved, and are being looked after at the AsiaWorld-Expo treatment facility.

Another linked case is a nurse who works at the private clinic of Dr Tse Kin-wah in Yuen Long.

Apart from the Food Panda delivery worker, the two other untraceable cases are a student who works parttime at a deli shop and a property agent who worked in Mei Foo and Central.

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The three imported cases are an air crew who traveled to the United States and Bahrain, a pilot who arrived from Russia, and a returnee from Pakistan.

Dr. Sara Ho from the Hospital Authority said two patients passed away in the last 24 hours. Together with the TKO patient who succumbed to coronavirus-related ailment  yesterday and was confirmed positive today, they raised the death toll to 84.

The latest fatalities were a 91-year-old man who passed away at 7:54 this morning at United Christian Hospital; and a 76-year-old man who died at 10.25am in Tuen Mun Hospital. Both patients had chronic diseases.

Of the city’s total Covid-19 tally of 4,769, only 397 are still being treated at 18 public hospitals and the AWE treatment facility. Of these, 25 are  in critical condition, 34 are in serious condition, and 330 are stable.

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Akap handout for displaced OFWs remains suspended

By Daisy CL Mandap

Many of those who line up at the Polo offices are stranded workers applying for financial help

The distribution of the US$200 “Akap” financial assistance from the Philippine government called to overseas Filipino workers displaced by the pandemic in Hong Kong remains suspended because funding has dried up.

This is according to Assistant Labor Attache Angelica Sunga, in response to queries and complaints from some overseas Filipino workers who were told starting on Aug 13 that the applications to the cash assistance had been stopped temporarily.

“We are still waiting for the requested additional funding which will be allocated for the pending approved applications,” ALA Sunga told The SUN.

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She said all applications were temporarily suspended as of the same day as they were awaiting new guidelines from the Department of Labor and Employment in the Philippines on how to dispense the fund.

Sunga said the Akap fund, which used to be disbursed by the Philippine Overseas Labor Office in Hong Kong, will now be transferred to the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration.

She said then that they were hoping to start accepting applications again after a week, but this did not happen, most likely because the supplemental funding has yet to come through.

ALA Angel says application for Akap will open again once fresh funding is received from Manila

When asked about recent post by an OFW who claimed to have just received her Akap payout, Sunga said the worker probably did not immediately pick up the money that had been sent through the bank before the suspension.

She also verified reports that some applicants who were desperate to get the money were offered $500, but said this was just to tide them over. She said the OFWs could still file a claim for the full Akap fund when they get back to the Philippines.

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One of those who have been waiting to get the financial assistance is Baby Jean de Leon, who was forced to quit her job three months ago, but only recently decided to apply for Akap.

De Leon, who is an active community leader and administrator of the online group, Domestic Workers Corner, said the financial assistance which converts to $1,540, would be a big help as she had to spend a lot for food and lodging while waiting for her new work visa.

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Another hopeful applicant is Kate, who was forced to call in the police on Aug 3 after being prevented from taking a day off since she arrived in Hong Kong in January.

Kate is struggling to make ends meet while pursuing her labour claim against her former employer. She has also filed a report with Immigration for her forced detention and the alleged verbal abuse she suffered at the hands of her elderly employer and her married son.

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With Philippine Congress having finally approved the Bayanihan 2 funding that the government had requested to respond to the continuing backlash from the pandemic, their wait might be over soon.

Of the Php140billion that will be made available for use by the government under this law, Php820million has been allocated for helping overseas Filipino workers.

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The next week or so will show whether this money will trickle overseas, specifically to OFWs in Hong Kong who remain stranded, or are desperately trying to stay so they can move on to new jobs and continue providing for their families back home.

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