Covid-19 'test on wheels' brought to FDH haunts

By The SUN 

A Filipina DH getting tested inside a mobile station parked on Chater Road

The Labour Department has sent mobile specimen collection stations at three places on Sunday, Mar 14, to give free Covid-19 testing service to foreign domestic helpers.

It was the first of two Sundays that free tests are being given to FDHs through the mobile stations set up at three of their favorite gathering places: Chater Road in Central, Hing Fat street entrance of Victoria Park in Causeway Bay, and in Lai Chi Kok Park.

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The second and last session will be held on Mar 21 at the same sites.

Morning queue on Chater Road

Dozens of FDHs queued up at all three sites in the morning to avail of the free tests done through a throat and nasal swab, but only a trickle could be seen signing up for it after lunch time.

Josie Pingkihan of United Filipinos in Hong Kong said her fellow FDHs should avail of the free Covid-19 test, which they could take without having to leave their regular haunts.

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“Sa mga kababayan ko, free po ito, unlike sa mga private clinics na mahal ang bayad,” said Pingkihan. (To my fellow Filipinas, this is free, unlike in private clinics where you have to pay a high fee). “Let’s take advantage of this free service by the Hong Kong government.”

Pingkihan tells fellow FDHs, 'take advantage of this free service right at your doorstep'

One Filipina in the vicinity said she did not avail of the free service as she had already gone for a coronavirus test in an earlier round sponsored by the Labour Department, and was already satisfied with her negative test result.

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The easy time FDHs had with getting the free coronavirus test contrasted sharply with the long wait other residents had to put up with in nearby Edinburgh Place. 

At nearby Edinburgh Place, hundreds lined up for the same free service

As many as 100 people were seen lining up just outside City Hall to avail of the free tests offered by the government in the wake of a virus outbreak in a gym in the neighboring district of Sai Ying Pun.

Throughout the day, the police, along with staff of various government departments, patrolled  places where FDHs thronged, to remind them of the ban on public gatherings of more than four people, and to wear face masks. Many ignored the reminder, but the police made no effort to issue penalty tickets.

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A statement from the Labour Department said the mobile broadcasts reminding FDHs to comply with the anti-epidemic regulations, as well as the free test on wheels, will continue next Sunday, Mar 21.

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It called on FDHs to take advantage of the latest round of free tests offered exclusively to them, and for employers and employment agencies to help encourage them.

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FDHs who test negative will get their result via SMS. All positive test results will be referred to the Centre for Health Protection, which will take care of informing the participant, and arranging for treatment.

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All enquiries about the free testing service may be made through the dedicated FDH hotline at 2157 9537 (manned by 1823) or by email to fdh-enquiry@labour.gov.hk. 

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CX flights from Manila banned after 5 Covid-19 cases found

By The SUN

Cathay won't be able to fly from and to Manila until Mar 28

Hong Kong health authorities have stopped Cathay Pacific from flying in from Manila for two weeks after five of its passengers tested positive on arrival Saturday, Mar 13.

A press release issued by the Department of Health at about 10pm Sunday said it was invoking its right under Cap 599H (Regulation of Cross-boundary Conveyances and Travellers) by prohibiting the “landing of passenger flights from Manila operated by CX in Hong Kong from Mar 15 to 28, 2021.”

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The statement said five passengers on board CX 906 which arrived at 1:30pm Saturday were confirmed to have Covid-19 through specimens collected at the HK International Airport.

All of its passengers should have presented negative test results for the coronavirus before being allowed to board the flight to Hong Kong, apart from confirmed bookings for 21 days at a designated quarantine hotel.

An overnight curfew will again be imposed in Metro Manila after a spike in cases

The ban comes amid a surge in infections in the Philippines, and reports of a new coronavirus variant unique to the country (PH variant) being found.

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On Sunday, 4,999 new Covid-19 cases were reported across the country, bringing the total number of infections to 621,498. The day before, more than 5,000 new cases were reported.

Over the weekend, health authorities also reported that a new coronavirus unique to the Philippines was found. Designated as P.3, the new strain was discovered after 85 cases “with unique set of mutations” were submitted to the global reporting system Pangolin (Phylogenetic Assignment of Named Global Outbreak Lineages).

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There are now 98 cases of this variant in the country, after 13 more cases were found.

All coronavirus variants, including ones first found in Britain, South Africa and Brazil, are known to be 70% more infectious.

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However, Philippine health authorities say more data is needed to say whether the P.3 variant is more transmissible or causes more severe diseases and increased risk of death.

The new imported cases from the Philippines are expected to be announced by Hong Kong health authorities in their daily press briefing today. It takes two positive results in tests for a person to be identified as a confirmed case in Hong Kong.

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Yesterday, 24 new cases were reported, but they did not include any imported ones. However, about 20 other cases were designated as preliminary positive.

Previously, multiple infections were also detected in a Cebu Pacific flight that arrived in Hong Kong from Manila on Sept. 9, but the ban was not imposed on the airline.

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Five Filipina domestic helpers from the same recruitment agency who flew in aboard a 5J flight from Manila tested positive on arrival in Hong Kong that time, and five others were found infected while in hotel quarantine on subsequent days.

Three of those infected were sent back to Manila after treatment, prompting the Consulate to protest to Hong Kong Immigration authorities, citing a breach in protocol.

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The flight ban was, however, imposed on Air India twice, and on Nepal Airlines once, after multiple cases were found among the passengers they flew into Hong Kong.

A flight ban on Britain, South Africa and Brazil remains in force, in the wake of the virus mutations found in these countries. 

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24 new Covid-19 cases recorded; 10 linked to gym outbreak

By Vir B. Lumicao 

All 3 campuses of The Harbour School were shut after 3 teachers tested positive (File)

Ten more people linked to a gym in Sai Ying Pun were among 24 new Covid-19 cases recorded today, Mar 14, and health officials warned the cluster could grow bigger, as the coronavirus has an incubation period of 14 days.

“We have to be mindful and need to closely monitor the situation to see if there are further transmissions arising from this cluster,” Dr Albert Au from the Centre for Health Protection said at today’s press briefing.

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Au said the new cases had raised the number of confirmed infections from Ursus Fitness to 109. Ten preliminary positive cases are also linked to the outbreak.

The number of close contacts had also gone up to 750, and Au said the CHP would move all of them to quarantine centers.

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Mandatory testing will also be carried out on 1,900 people at seven schools where patients in the Ursus cluster either work or study.

Of today’s 10 additional patients from the Ursus cluster, six were customers and four were close contacts, said Au.

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Two confirmed and one preliminary positive cases were found at The Harbour School’s Grove campus in Ap Lei Chau today, all of them teachers.

Au said the first patient shared a classroom with the second case, a fellow IT teacher. The third case is an art teacher who had a brief, 10-minute contact with the IT teacher.

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“So we believe that the transmission is person to person and happened inside the IT room,” said Au.

All 35 students and six assistant teaching staff in two IT classes at Harbour School need to undergo quarantine and testing.

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The school said on its website that all of its three campuses  - at Belcher’s Street in Kennedy Town and on Lee Chi Road and Ap Lei Chai Bridge in Ap Lei Chau, have been closed and students will be doing virtual classes.

The youngest among today’s confirmed cases was a 5-year-old female K-2 pupil at Sun Island English Kindergarten in Yuen Long, Au said. The girl, who lives in Shek Au Wai, developed a symptom on Mar 6 and was confirmed positive on Saturday.

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Au said the girl’s father, aged 49, is also among the 20 preliminary positive cases. The father had an onset of the disease on Mar 13 and was found during contact tracing.

“So far, we have located three teachers and 14 students as close contacts who will be sent to quarantine,” Au said.

The tally of confirmed cases in Hong Kong is now 11,281, with the death toll at 203.

Kingsfield Tower in Pokfulam has been locked down overnight 

Meanwhile, the government began ambush lockdowns this evening in the upscale areas of Pok Fu Lam and Old Peak Road on Hong Kong Island to carry out compulsory testing of residents in several buildings there.

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The government said that residents of Block A and B, Kingsfield Tower, 64-68 Pok Fu Lam Road/73-83 Bonham Road; Fung Lam Bldg, 35-37 Pok Fu Lam Road; Tung Ming Court, 39 Pok Fu Lam Road; Lee Wai Bldg, 41-43 Pok Fu Lam Road; and 63 Pok Fu Lam Road in Central and Western District are required to stay in their premises and undergo compulsory testing.

The lockdown was prompted by a confirmed case in Kingsfield Tower recently and sewage samples that tested positive in Fung Lam Bldg, Tung Ming Court, Lee Wai Bldg and 63 Pok Fu Lam Road, the government said.

A similar lockdown was put in place from 7pm today to 7am tomorrow on Towers 1 to 5, Dynasty Court, 23 Old Peak Road in Central and Western District. .

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Mid-Levels lockdown ends with no Covid-19 cases found

By The SUN 

Around 370 govt staff were tapped to do the testing for the Mid-Levels residents

An overnight lockdown of four ritzy housing blocks on Mid-Levels resulted in 1,855 people being tested for Covid-19, but with no confirmed cases found.

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Locked down from around 8:30pm Saturday until 9am Sunday were blocks 1 and 2 of Robinson Place on Robinson Road, as well as phases 1 and 2 of Blessings Garden on Conduit Road. Around 980 household were covered by the lockdown.

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Anyone who spent more than two hours in the buildings between Feb 28 and Mar 13 was ordered to undergo coronavirus tests, even if they were absent during the lockdown.

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The move was taken after a surge in Covid-19 cases in Central and Western Districts, most of them linked to the outbreak in Ursus Fitness in Sai Ying Pun, where 99 infections had been linked as of Saturday morning.

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According to a press statement from the government, the operation was completed at 11am, and 16 persons were found to have violated the compulsory testing order. They were each issued a fixed penalty ticket of $5,000 and told to get tested.

The operation ended with no positive cases being found

No one answered the door at around 150 households, and the government advised people living in the said flats to contact the government to arrange for tests as soon as possible. =

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The government said simple food was provided for those subject to compulsory testing. They were also provided with masks, bleach, hand sanitizer and other anti-virus protective gear.

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Separately, compulsory testing orders were imposed on residents and visitors of 64 buildings across Hong Kong overnight. 

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The list included 13 blocks in Sai Ying Pun where the gym outbreak was detected, and where sewage samples showed the presence of coronavirus.

The order covered everyone who had spent at least two hours in the specified buildings in the last two weeks.

All but eight of the buildings on the list were on Hong Kong Island, and most were in Central and Western district.

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Covid-19 cases in gym rises to 99, including 3 Filipinos

By Daisy CL Mandap 

The 3 Filipinos from the Ursus gym cluster are being treated at this Lantau facility

The number of Covid-19 cases linked to a Sai Ying Pun gym continues to grow, with 35 of the 47 new infections reported today, Mar 13, being linked to the cluster.

Dr Chuang Shuk-kwan from the Centre for Health Protection said at today’s press briefing that the total number of cases from the Ursus Fitness cluster has now grown to 99, only four days since the first infection was detected.

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Those found infected are 7 staff members, 75 customers and 17 close contacts of patients.

The new infections were broken down into 25 customers and 10 close contacts. Chuang said they mostly tested positive at the quarantine centers, although some sought treatment after developing symptoms.

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Sources told The SUN that among those who tested positive were three Filipinos: a male trainer, a female receptionist, and a female customer or student at Ursus, who were all moved to Penny’s Bay quarantine centre on Thursday, where they were found infected.

All three were reportedly asymptomatic or had mild symptoms, so they were all sent to North Lantau District Hospital for treatment.

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Most of those infected were, however, local Chinese and some expatriates working as bankers, lawyers, accountants and teachers.

Chuang said it might be a good idea to suggest work-from-home arrangement for the offices where confirmed cases were found, in response to a reporter’s query.

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“Of course, if the offices can arrange work from home, it’s a better social distancing measure than gathering in the office,” said Chuang. “(Because) if there is one case in the office, we might have to issue compulsory testing notice for all the workers there and also may quarantine some close contacts.”

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The compulsory testing list released yesterday showed a total of 80 places where residents and staff need to undergo Covid-19 testing, and they included two floors of HSBC’s headquarters in Central, and the offices of Shearman & Sterling in Central, Credit Suisse in Kowloon, and Ernst & Young in Kowloon.

Staff on 2 floors of HSBC's headquarters are among those ordered to go for testing

Also included was the elite Kellett School on the Peak, where those affected were primary students aged between 9 and 10 years old. Chuang said CHP had initially considered sending the kids to quarantine, but after learning that they had worn face masks during classes, the testing order was put in place instead.

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Chuang said 53 more places would be put under mandatory testing today, comprising 32 residential buildings and 21 workplaces. The order is issued to all residents and visitors in each place where at least one confirmed case of Covid-19 is detected.

Today’s confirmed cases linked to Ursus was that involving a female trainer at another gym, One PT, who tested preliminary positive yesterday. Chuang said further investigation showed the patient had been to Ursus during the incubation period.

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Of the 12 other cases detected today, 4 were imported, and all were found to carry the highly infectious coronavirus variant, N501Y. One flew in from Pakistan, two from the Netherlands, and one from several places, including the United Arab Emirates.

Chuang said they brought to 75 the total number of variant carriers found in Hong Kong.

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Of the eight local cases not linked to Ursus, four were of unknown sources, including one who had been to Pure Fitness gym in late February, and developed a sore throat on Mar 1. The gym has been listed among gyms where some Ursus customers had gone to.

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