Mass testing extended to Sept 11, as two Filipino returnees found infected

By Daisy CL Mandap

 

Officials say the city-wide testing is being extended because of high demand 

Hong Kong government officials have announced the extension of the city-wide testing for Covid-19 for four days, or until Sept. 11, as those who have signed up for the exercise reached nearly one million by 11am today, Sept 4.

Dr Sophia Chan, Secretary for Food and Health, said the universal testing is an important step in the prevention and control of the epidemic, and would be beneficial in the city’s preparation “for the next wave in the winter.”

So far, eight positive cases have been detected from the mass testing, half of them  previously-known infections, and the other half, new cases.

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The four cases were among the 12 new cases reported today.

Also included were five imported cases, including two Filipinas belonging to the same family who tested positive while in quarantine. One is 46 years old, the other is 18.

The older patient developed symptoms on Sept 1, and the younger one two days later. They were both staying at the Ramada Hong Kong Grand Hotel in Tsim Sha Tsui when they were found infected on their second test.

Dr Chuang Shuk-kwan of the Centre for Health Protection said the two flew in aboard Cathay Pacific’s Flight CX 906 from Manila earlier.

The infected Filipinos flew in aboard CX 906 from Manila

The other imported cases were an Indonesian domestic worker who arrived on Sept 2, an infant who arrived from Pakistan, and another returnee from Pakistan who transited in Doha, Qatar.

Five of the cases were of unknown source, including the four detected from the universal testing.

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Of the two linked cases, one involving a guest at Metropark Hotel in Mong Kok caused serious concern, as he was found to have stayed on the same floor as two previous patients, one of whom died before he could be diagnosed.

“So far, guests in three rooms on the same floor are infected and they do not know each other. We are worried there might be a further outbreak there,” Dr Chuang said.

A fourth confirmed case is a relative of the 87-year-old man who died, and had stayed in the same room. A fifth guest is said to have tested preliminary positive.

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Authorities will now evacuate 20 guests and staff linked to the same floor, and move them to quarantine centres. All other guests and staff at the hotel will be given tests.

20 people will be evacuated from Metropark Mongkok after 4 guests tested positive for Covid-19

As previously reported, the two earlier ones were a 63-year-old male retiree who lives in Kwai Tsing whose main outdoor activity was visiting nearby wet markets, and a 22-year-old woman who also did not work and occasionally met up with friends.

The two new cases include a 67-year-old woman who is retired and lives in Jordan, and often went to the Yau Ma Tei wet market. She developed low-grade fever and diarrhea between Aug 18 and 22, but did not see a doctor.

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The other case is a 46-year-old housewife who may be linked to a previous case in Tai Wai. One day after getting herself tested on Sept 1, she and her husband developed a fever.

Her husband, who is a security officer at the Transport Department, was also tested, and is now classified as preliminary positive.

During contact tracing, it emerged that the husband had met up briefly with a colleague in late August without wearing a mask. This colleague later tested positive for the coronavirus, and Chuang says a transmission might have occurred during their short meeting.

Also at the briefing, Dr Linda Yu of the Hospital Authority revealed that a box containing test samples that went missing from the outpatient clinic of the Tseung Kwan O hospital was taken away by a patient who used it to shield him from the rain, and left in a nearby carpark.

Dr Yu said the hospital has asked those who left samples to get themselves tested again. She also said the hospital is reviewing its procedures for turning over the sample bottles to private contractors, to prevent a recurrence of the incident.

The city’s total confirmed cases now number 4,850, with 94 related deaths. A total of 261 confirmed cases are now in 20 public hospitals and at the community treatment facility in AsiaWorld-Expo. Among these, 26 are in critical condition, 14 are serious, and 221 are in stable condition.

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Filipino gay tourist jailed two months for prostitution

By Vir B. Lumicao

The court heard the defendant was dressed as a sexy woman when he met the undercover agent

A Filipino gay tourist was jailed for two months today, Sept 4, after he admitted in Eastern Court that he violated his condition of stay as a visitor by soliciting sex for a fee.

M Arabejo II pleaded guilty when he was charged before Magistrate Bina Chainrai two days after his arrest at the Best Western Hotel in Causeway Bay by an undercover officer who responded to an online advertisement offering sex for pay.

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The officer reportedly called a telephone number that the advertiser provided on Sept. 2 and he was directed to Room 1611 of the hotel on Bowrington Road.

The prosecution said Arabejo, who was dressed as a woman in a sexy outfit, opened the door and greeted the officer when he arrived at the room at about 2pm. The defendant allegedly told him the fee for a full sex service was $2,000.

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When the defendant began to disrobe, the officer announced he was a policeman and arrested him. Officers who searched the hotel room found 10 unused condoms and a bottle of KY gel.

During investigation, Arabejo was found to have arrived on a visitor visa in Hong Kong on Mar 11 this year and was permitted to remain until Sept 7.

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The prosecutor said the defendant admitted the offense under caution and was charged with breach of condition of stay.   

Chainrai gave a two month’s discount on the defendant’s sentence for his guilty plea.

   

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Pinay DH settles long service claim for $20k after being told she could lose case

By Vir B. Lumicao

The Filipina claimant was told by the tribunal officer she could lose her case

A Filipina helper who was warned by a Labour Tribunal officer that she had little chance of winning a claim for long service and one month’s salary in lieu of notice against her former employer nevertheless managed to walk off with $20,000 in settlement.

Lorena B. Cinco and her employer for seven years, Peter Michael D’Almada Remedios, agreed to settle the case during a hearing before Presiding Officer Timon Shum today, Sept 4.

The Filipina had claimed that she was fired after D’Almada Remedios told her she could leave his house the day after she gave him a termination letter in March.

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The employer had already paid her other amounts such as arrears in wages, air ticket, travel and food allowance.

Cinco was insisting she was fired because the employer did not allow her to continue working for another month during the notice period.

But D’Almada Remedios denied the claim, saying they had both signed a written agreement stating she was resigning and would be released on the same day.

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Cinco said she signed the document only because she was made to believe that the employer would pay her the money she was claiming.

But Shum said that since the helper had already given a notice of termination, the employer had every right to let her go on the spot without paying her a month’s salary in lieu of notice.

Neither could she claim long service pay because she was the one who terminated her employment contract.

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With her stated salary of $8,000 a month, Cinco would have been entitled to more than $45,000 in long service pay and salary in lieu if she was indeed terminated.

But when Shum asked her for a document to prove that she was terminated, Cinco could only produce a text message which read “we talk this over before you leave tomorrow.”

Shum asked for the employer’s message preceding that note, but after reading it, he told the maid there was nothing in it that showed that she was being terminated.

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The presiding officer said if the case went to trial, Cinco was likely to lose. He asked her how much her bottom line was and she said $30,000.

But D’Almada Remedios said he would not go beyond $20,000.

The presiding officer told Cinco the amount was also “generous” and said that if she didn’t accept it and insisted on a trial, she could lose and end up paying court cost.

After a brief break to allow the parties to work on a settlement, Cinco told the court she was accepting the $20,000 offer.

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Stranded pregnant Filipina finds adoptive home while waiting to give birth

By Vir B. Lumicao

 

The pregnant Filipina was terminated before
she could inform her employer about her condition

A 26-year-old Filipina domestic helper who found out she’s pregnant after losing her job is stranded in Hong Kong due to the pandemic, but has found a warm adoptive home and family as she anticipates her baby’s birth this month.

Just a few months back, she was distressed by her sudden loss of employment and unexpected pregnancy that were compounded by her boyfriend’s refusal to recognize paternity, Alexandria said in a video story on the website of PathFinders Hong Kong.

A kind, supportive friend led the expectant mother to PathFinders, a nongovernmental organization that lends support to vulnerable migrant women and their children.

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The NGO offered a shelter to Alexandria, who said her baby is due on Sept 27.

Alexandria said her contract was terminated by her employer after nearly one and a half years serving the household, but did not give the reason for her dismissal.

“It was my first time to work in Hong Kong. My employer didn’t know that I was pregnant. This is my first time to have a baby, so I didn’t know that I was pregnant,” Alexandria said.

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She said it was only on Mar 3, when her monthly period was delayed, that she went to see a doctor for a checkup. The finding that she was pregnant jolted her.

Alexandria said she was too confused and didn’t know what to do. Initially, she didn’t tell her mother about her condition, afraid that it would make her mad.

But a friend advised her to tell her mother the truth, and was surprised by the outcome.

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“So, I told my Mom and she said she was happy for me and for my baby,” Alexandria said.

Acceptance and forgiveness by her mother lifted Alexandria’s spirits. “I am happy and I think that the baby is a blessing,” she said.

Alexandria said she wanted to go back to the Philippines and give birth there, but she was prevented from doing so by the Covid-19 lockdown in the country.

PathFinders lecture to migrant mothers about their rights 

Kuma Chow, senior communications manager at the NGO, said Alexandria had obtained a recognizance paper from the Immigration Department so she could stay legally in Hong Kong while she couldn’t fly home due to the lockdown and her being too pregnant.

Except for the guarantee that they won’t get arrested for overstaying in Hong Kong, migrant mothers on recognizance still find the going tough as they are not eligible for public healthcare and are prohibited from taking up work.

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“Costs are top of their worries very often,” Chow said. “Generally, we help clients by referral to Equal Justice Hong Kong for legal assistance, including paternity claims or labor disputes.”

Chow said Alexandria participates in PathFinders’ educational workshops such as one on prenatal yoga and has a case officer assigned to follow her situation.  

For now, Alexandria is focused on her impending motherhood and her eventual return home to her own family.

“Maybe after the lockdown, I can go back home and take care of my baby,” she said.

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New Covid-19 cases include 6 from universal testing and 8 new ones

By The SUN

 

4 of the 6 positive cases from the universal testing are previous infections (promo photo)

Six out of the first 128,000 people tested under Hong Kong’s mass screening for Covid-19 tested positive yesterday, according to the city’s health officials. But four of the patients were previously infected and were not considered as new cases.

These are separate from the eight new cases reported today, Sept. 3, which included a 63-year-old woman who was found infected only after she died alone in her house in Shek Kip Mei.

They brought the city’s total tally to 4,839, but with only 279 still being treated in hospital.

Director of Health Constance Chan reported the initial result from the universal community testing which kicked off on Tuesday, Sept. 1, at today’s press briefing.

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She said that as of 1pm today, about 850,000 had already registered for the mass screening. Of these, 370,000 had already been tested, but most of the samples are still being analysed in laboratories.

Dr Chan repeated the call for the public to join the scheme “to identify the silent carriers, (or) the asymptomatic patients to cut off the transmission chain in the community.”

Dr Chuang Shuk-kwan of the Centre for Health Protection said that the four detected as infected from the universal screening had just been released from hospital after testing negative for the virus, and were found to have developed antibodies.

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Three of them volunteered to be tested again to get reassurance, while the fourth signed up at the request of her company, prior to her being allowed to resume work.

The two new cases included a 63-year-old man who had stopped working in June, and mostly stayed at his home in Kwai Tsing with his wife and other family members. He sometimes visited the wet markets in Sham Shui Po and Mei Foo.

A pattern has emerged of elderly patients whose main activities include going to wet markets

The other patient is a 22-year-old woman who is unemployed and lives with her family in Siu Hong estate in Tuen Mun. She said she had dined from time to time during the incubation period, but could not remember the details.

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Chuang said the patients will be given case numbers tomorrow, when they will be included in the list of new infections.

Of today’s cases, only one is imported. It involves a seafarer who flew into Hong Kong from India via Doha, Qatar.

Four are of unknown source, including the woman who lived alone and was found positive during a post-mortem.

Chuang said inquiries revealed that the woman had consulted a doctor on Aug 28, complaining of swollen legs. The patient was diagnosed with hypertension and referred to a specialist, but she did not go.

Her family members called police when they could not contact her, and she was found dead at home. Lung tissue sample taken from her body during an autopsy at a public mortuary tested positive for Covid-19.

The three untraceable cases include a 66-year-old man who sold Chinese medicine in Yau Ma Tei and lives with his wife in Sau Mau Ping; a 74-year-old woman who lives in Oi Man Estate in Homantin; and a 63-year-old woman who lives in Shek Kip Mei.

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Chuang said all the cases fitted the usual pattern of elderly people, mostly retirees, who did not socialize much, and whose activities mainly consisted of buying food in wet markets. While wet markets may not be the source of the infection, she said the large number of people who gather there could be a risk factor.

The linked cases included two family members, and another carer at Hong Chi hostel for the mentally disabled in Lei Muk Shue, Tsuen Wan, where more than 20 cases have been detected so far.

Today’s eight cases matched the previous day’s number, which was the lowest since July 3.

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New illegal recruitment charge filed against FDH & no-show employer

By Vir B. Lumicao

Only Biscocho was in court today to face 20 criminal charges 

Only Biscocho was in court today

Another complainant against two alleged illegal recruiters, one of them a Filipina domestic helper, has stepped forward, prompting prosecution to ask for an adjournment of the case during a hearing at District Court today, Sept 3.

Only defendant Marijane Biscocho, 42, was in court today, as her employer, Lennis Ebrahim, 56, was said to be sick, according to her lawyer.

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Each faces a charge of money laundering and 19 counts of applying a false trade description when they offered allegedly non-existent jobs in Hong Kong and Macau to several Filipino jobseekers who paid between $3,000 to $10,000.

Judge K.W. Kwok adjourned the case until Oct 13 and ordered Biscocho sent back to custody.

He also ordered Ebrahim to go to the District Court within seven days to complete her bail application. At the same time he told Ebrahim’s lawyer sternly to make sure his client appears in the next hearing.

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 “She should attend District Court and prepare an undertaking to surrender herself to court custody at every hearing,” Kwok said.

He said Ebrahim can either apply to have her bail extended, or make a new bail application within the next seven days.

The two defendants were supposed to enter their plea today, but this was again postponed because of Ebrahim’s absence, and the filing of a new complaint against them.

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The prosecution told Judge Kwok that because of the new complaint by an alleged victim, investigators needed more time to consolidate the cases.

On the money laundering charge, Biscocho and Ebrahim are accused of depositing $127,000 in a Hang Seng Bank account and $510,500 in an HSBC account between 2018 and 2019, the sums being proceeds from their illegal acts.

Separately, Biscocho is charged with breaching her condition of stay by working for Ebrahim’s WHT Consulting Co, a recruitment firm in Kwun Tong, between Oct 1, 2018 and Sept 17 last year while on domestic helper visa.

A second Filipina helper, Ninfa Lumatac, was accused by the complainants as one of those who lured them to pay for jobs as gardeners, drivers and printers in Hong Kong and Macau that turned out to be non-existent.

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The prosecution later said Lumatac had escaped to Macau, then to the Philippines, before the authorities could act on the complaints.

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