HK grants $9.7million cash aid for Phl typhoon relief operation

 By The SUN 

Typhoon Vamco (Ulysses) caused extensive flooding across Luzon in mid-November

The Hong Kong government has approved the disbursements of four grants totaling $9.7 million from the Disaster Relief Fund to help typhoon victims in the Philippines.

A statement released in the government information website today, Jan 25, said the money will go to four charities that undertake typhoon relief operations in the Philippines.

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These are Oxfam Hong Kong, which will get $2.614 million; Plan International Hong Kong, $1.951 million; Hong Kong Red Cross, $1.825 million; and Save the Children Hong Kong, $3.31 million.

The money will be used to provide hygiene kits, household kits and education kits, as well as water purification items and shelter materials for about 57,750 victims.

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No particular typhoon was mentioned, but the statement said the one for which the grant was released had affected around 3.3 million people in the Philippines.

The county was hit by two massive typhoons in November last year, including Super Typhoon Goni, which swept through Metro Manila and the Bicol Region in the first week of the month, and was quickly followed by Atsani.

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But the more disastrous one was Vamco, which caused the worst flooding in the country for years, mostly throughout the main island of Luzon, including Metro Manila.

Hardest hit by Super Typhoon Goni was the Bicol Region

The typhoon grant was extended on the advice of the Disaster Relief Fund Advisory Committee.

“The Committee hoped that the grants would facilitate the provision of timely relief to the victims and help them restore their normal living,” said the statement.

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Earlier, another relief package worth about $500,000 was given to agencies helping typhoon victims in the Philippines, bringing the total amount extended to the Philippines to $10.225 million.

“As the targeted localities of relief agencies or the types of relief items to be distributed are different, there will be no overlapping of resources,” added the statement.

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The relief agencies through which the donations will be coursed will be asked to submit evaluation reports and audited accounts on where the money went, after their relief projects have been completed. 

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Filipina DH accused of stealing nearly $800k from employer’s bank account

By Vir B. Lumicao 

The Filipina is alleged to have made 200 withdrawals from employer's account since Nov 2019

A Filipina domestic helper was charged in Eastern Court today, Jan 25, for allegedly stealing $768,000 from her male employer’s bank account over a period of 14 months.

The defendant, June Jennie Garaza, appeared before Magistrate Bina Chainrai following her arrest last weekend.

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The prosecution said Garaza, 33, made more than 200 unauthorized ATM withdrawals between Nov 26, 2019 and Jan 21 this year from the Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corp account of her employer, Stephen Peepels.

The prosecutor did not say how the employer found out about the theft.

She asked for an eight-week adjournment of the case, saying she was still awaiting records of the ATM transactions from the bank, and seek legal advice.

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The prosecution said it was opposing bail due to the seriousness of the offense, but the defense lawyer said Garaza had no bail application.

Magistrate Chainrai scheduled the next hearing for Mar 22 and ordered the defendant remanded in custody.

The case is being heard at Eastern Court but will likely be transferred to a  higher court

The offense is the latest in a series of big theft cases allegedly pulled off by Filipina helpers at their employers’ expense over the past two years.

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In the largest such case so far, domestic helper Carmelita Nones is facing charges of stealing about 200 jewelry pieces, gold bars and watches worth a total of $14.6 million from her employers in Deepwater Bay between Jun 17, 2018 and Sept 5, 2019.

Her niece, friend and sister are accused of pawning or keeping the alleged stolen jewelry pieces for her. The case has been transferred to the Court of First Instance and will be heard on Mar 8.

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The second-biggest theft case is that lodged against Edarlyn Emperador, 50. She was arrested by police on Aug 7 last year for allegedly stealing $860,000 worth of watches and jewelry from her female employer in Homantin, Kowloon over 10 months.

The next hearing of the case is set for Jan 27 at the District Court.

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Jordan lockdown eased as 76 new infections reported

By Vir B. Lumicao 

Chief Secretary Matthew Cheung leads inspection of lockdown area

Hong Kong authorities have let coronavirus-free residents go in and out of the lockdown area in Jordan after testing more than 7,000 people there, as health officials reported 76 new cases today, Jan 24. Four of them were Indonesian domestic helpers.

Home Affairs Secretary Caspar Tsui said in a press briefing the lockdown declaration would be revoked this midnight to enable residents who tested negative would be able to resume their normal activities.

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“After 6pm today, that is now, we allow all those who have taken the test, as long as the results are negative, and for those who are wearing wristbands, these…residents can now go in and out of the restricted area via designated exits to minimize the impact,” he said.

Tsui said the government will seriously follow up and enhance the anti-epidemic campaign and officers will continue to work in the restricted area.

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He said those who were in the restricted area for two hours in the past 14 days, even though they were outside the zone when the lockdown was imposed at 4am on Saturday, must go for a test as soon as possible as a responsible individual.

He warned those who violate the restriction and mandatory testing declaration that they face a fine of $25,000 and six months in jail.

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The government imposed the 48-hour lockdown in an area with about 55 residential buildings in Jordan as it battled to control the spread of Covid-19 among its residents.

Secretary for Food and Health, Prof Sofia Chan, said that as of 3pm today, more than 7,000 residents had taken the compulsory test in 51 mobile testing stations. She said more than 80 persons were tested in door-to-door sorties in the restricted area.

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Chan said the tests in the restricted area accounted for 13 positive cases today, or 0.17% of the positive rate. She said four cases came from the same family and two came from another family. Seven other cases came from other households.

Preliminary positive patients were sent to public hospitals and contact tracing was under way, Chan said.

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Answering a reporter’s query, Chan said the lockdown showed that the government’s strategy of compulsory testing and testing within a small area with the restriction of movement was very effective in identifying, detecting and isolating the cases.

Chan did not rule imposing another lockdown where it is need in future, saying this measure, as well as the issuance of compulsory testing notice, are effective measures. 

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Dr Chuang Shuk-kwan from the Centre for Health Protection said in an earlier media briefing the 76 new patients included 23 from Yau Tsim Mong, 11 of whom were from the Jordan restricted zone.

The new cases brought Hong Kong’s total Covid-19 tally to 10,085, health officials said.

Four of these were imported cases, and they were all Indonesian female helpers, aged 23 to 34, one of whom arrived via Singapore on Jan 22. Three others flew in on Jan 10 and tested positive on their 12^th day in quarantine.

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Of the new cases, 27 had unknown origin and 45 were linked to other cases, Chuang said.

Dr Linda Yu of the Hospital Authority said as of 9am today, public hospitals received 77 positive cases in the past 24 hours, and discharged a total of 9 034 patients with confirmed or probable infection. 

A total of 775 confirmed patients are still in 24 public hospitals and at the AsiaWorld community treatment facility. Among them, 35 are in critical condition, 35 in serious condition and the remaining 705 in stable condition.

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Yu also announced the death of a 72-year-old male patient with chronic illness who was admitted to Kwong Wah Hospital on Dec 24 last year after testing positive for Covid-19.

Police were highly visible in the lockdown area

Earlier today, Chief Secretary for Administration Matthew Cheung inspected the restricted area in Jordan.

Briefing reporters afterwards, Cheung replied to a query that he was confident of lifting the restrictions by 6am tomorrow, based on the on testing of residents in the area.

“We have confidence that we should be able to do it (ending the lockdown) because we have already done screening for 7,000 people yesterday in terms of testing,” Cheung said. 

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HK’s total Covid-19 cases top 10k, one year after first case detected

By Daisy CL Mandap 

Man from Wuhan who arrived Jan 22 last year was HK's first coronavirus case  

Exactly a year since the first coronavirus case was recorded in Hong Kong, the city’s tally from Covid-19 has gone past the 10,000 mark.

Health officials reported 81 new cases today, Jan 23, pushing the total count to 10,009. But only 731 infected patients are still being treated in 24 public hospitals and the community facility in AsiaWorld Expo.

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Hong Kong’s first case was recorded on this day last year, after a 39-year-old man from Wuhan who arrived via high-speed train from Wuhan and Shenzhen, tested positive a day after arrival.

Asked to assess the city’s response to the pandemic, Dr Chuang Shuk-kwan from the Centre for Health Protection said it had been a difficult year for everyone.

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“The one-year battle has not been easy, not just for Hong Kong, but for the whole world, too,” she said. “We adopted a lot of unprecedented measures, everyone experienced unprecedented situations. No one would ever have expected flights to be halted and borders to be closed. We are all learning from the experience.”

Dr Chuang said people should continue paying attention to their health even after testing negative for Covid-19, and should immediately seek medical help if they experience symptoms.

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Speaking about the new surge in cases, she said the number will continue to rise because of enhanced testing, especially in parts of Kowloon where several outbreaks have been reported.

“We expect the daily number of cases to get more and more in the coming days because of the enhanced testing in the restricted area, and because there is still a significant silent transmission in the community,” she said.

Today's press briefing on Covid-19, exactly a year since HK's first case was reported

Of today’s infections, 78 were locally acquired, including 21 from virus-plagued Yau Tsim Mong district in Kowloon, and six from adjoining Sham Shui Po, parts of which have been put as designated areas for compulsory testing.

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An entire block of flats in Jordan, which is part of the Yau Tsim Mong district, was today put under the city’s first lockdown, and everyone there was told to undergo testing by midnight tonight, and remain at home until the results are known.

Chief Executive Carrie Lam the move was taken after 162 Covid-19 cases were found in the area, and 90% of sewage samples taken from there showed the presence of coronavirus.

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More than 70 preliminary positive cases were recorded today, so tomorrow’s tally is projected to be around the same number as today’s.

Of the three imported cases reported today, one involved a 65-year-old Indonesian worker who tested positive on her second test, while in hotel quarantine.

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The two others both flew in on Jan 21. One is a 37-year-old Filipina domestic worker who came aboard a Cebu Pacific flight from Manila, and the other is a 23-year-old male returnee from Switzerland who traveled on Qatar Airways.

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Lockdown of Jordan block to last 48 hours

By The SUN 

Hundreds of people in full PPE can be seen in the blockaded area in Jordan (RTHK photo)

The Hong Kong government has imposed a 48-hour lockdown on a block with about 50 residential buildings in Jordan, in a bid to control the spread of the coronavirus among people living there.

The unprecedented move, taken in line with chapter 599J of the Regulations on Disease Prevention and Control, was meant to compel all residents in the targeted area in Kowloon to submit to Covid-19 tests, with Saturday midnight as the target completion time.

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The area designated as ''restricted'' runs from Woosung Street in the east, Nanking Street in the south, Battery Street in the west, to Kansu Street in the north.

The lockdown took effect as health officials announced 81 new Covid-19 cases, 78 of them locally acquired. Of the local cases, 21 were linked to the Yau Tsim Mong district, and six to adjacent Sham Shui Po, all in Kowloon.

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Speaking to reporters after an inspection tour of the area Saturday afternoon, Chief Executive Carrie Lam defended the action as being in the interest of public health.

The city’s top official said that for the first 20 days of this month, a total of 162 infections were recorded in the affected districts in Kowloon, where many of the buildings are old and poorly managed. Equally disturbing was that about 90% of more than 20 sewage samples from the area was found to have the virus.

CE Lam says 90% of sewage samples taken from the area had the virus

Responding to complaints about the lack of adequate notice to residents about the lockdown, Lam said her administration would learn from the experience so it would be better prepared if a similar situation occurs in future.

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But she said any public health measures need the full cooperation of citizens to be effective. For its part, the government is obliged to provide all necessary assistance to those affected.

“In this case, for example, we know that the residents being affected are not allowed to leave their homes for up to 48 hours. So what the government has done is we provide them with food packs, which we believe should be able to support them in the next two days,” she said.

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Contrary to earlier reports that residents who had tested negative for the virus would be allowed to leave, police who enforced the lockdown ordered everyone within the area to stay at home until all the test results have been confirmed.

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Anyone who has been in the restricted area for more than two hours in the past 14 days, was told to stay put and submit to compulsory testing by midnight tonight.

The order covered even reporters who were reportedly forced to stay overnight in a hotel when they were stopped from leaving after interviewing people in the area.

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One man who went into the restricted zone for a few hours had an altercation with the police when he was told he could not go out anymore.

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