Churches to resume masses, beaches to reopen but strict quarantine rules to stay

By The SUN 

Churches will be allowed to resume masses starting Wednesday

Churches will be allowed to hold religious gatherings starting Wednesday, the first of several venues to be allowed to resume services under the more relaxed social distancing measures announced by Hong Kong officials on Monday, Mar 29.

This comes ahead of the long Holy Week holiday, one of the most important dates in the Christian calendar.

But in line with strict gathering rules, no eating and drinking will be allowed, and according to Health Secretary Dr Sophia Chan, this means the ritual of communion will not take place.

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All religious venues should also be filled only up to 30% of their capacity.

Secretary for Home Affairs Caspar Tsui said the decision to allow churches to resume services was reached after several meetings with religious groups.

On Thursday, more venues will be reopened, including swimming pools, beaches, libraries and museums. Tsui said the Leisure and Cultural Services Department will progressively open other venues, depending on the epidemic situation.

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Cinemas, performing venues and theme parks will also be allowed to fill up to 75% of their capacity from the present 50%.

However, other venues classified as “high risk” such as bars, karaoke lounges and mahjong parlours will remain closed for at least two more weeks

Also, the longstanding demand of travelers for the 21-day hotel quarantine to be eased will not happen anytime soon, except for those coming from only three countries deemed as low-risk: Australia, New Zealand and Singapore.

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For travelers coming from these places, which will include non-residents for the first time, the hotel quarantine will be cut to 14 days. However, they will be required to undergo self-monitoring for a further 7 days, and get tested on the 19^th day.

Those coming from countries deemed as “medium risk” can also skip the third week of hotel quarantine if they have received two doses of an anti-Covid-19 vaccine and waited for at least 14 days before their travel.

Travelers from the Philippines will still have to undergo 21-day hotel quarantine

For those flying in from high risk countries which presently include the Philippines, Indonesia, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, South Africa, the United States and several others, the 21-day hotel quarantine will be kept in place.

Residents stranded in Britain will be allowed to return home by mid-April, but will have to undergo 21 days of hotel quarantine.

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The Return2HK’ program will be extended by allowing Hong Kong residents to skip quarantine if they return via air travel from anywhere in mainland China compared with just Guangdong and Macau previously

Workers in “scheduled premises” like restaurants and construction sites, as well as school teachers, can get exemption from regular Covid-19 tests if they get if vaccinated.

Those who receive two doses of the vaccine, may, after an extra 14 days, be allowed to visit patients in public hospitals and care homes, subject to the further requirement of testing negative in a rapid test.

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Chan urged Hongkongers to get vaccinated so the city can receive herd immunity and resume travel and other social activities soon.

She also said the easing of restrictions was not a “relaxation”, which experts have warned the government against, despite several days of single-digit infections

“We are not relaxing, we are simply adjusting,” she said, adding that an assessment was made of the risk, and the need to promote people’s physical and mental well-being.

 “So we are doing minor adjustments on some of the activities that we have very carefully assessed the risk, and this is also something that is related to people's mental health, so we are not only looking at physical health,” she said.

In a stark reminder of the risk of premature relaxation, Monday ended two days of zero local infections in Hong Kong.

A young student at Baptist University tested positive on Sunday, after developing sore throat. During the incubation period, he attended classes, taught football to a group of primary school students, and did one-on-one tutoring, all intense activities that led to about 50 people being sent to quarantine.

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Cancer patient Baby Jane Allas dies of kidney infection in Palawan home

By Vir B. Lumicao 

Baby Jane's case became the focus of anti-discrimination protests

A Filipina domestic helper who was fired by her Pakistani employer a day after she was diagnosed with Stage 3 cervical cancer in 2019 died last Saturday, Mar 27, in her hometown of Narra in Palawan.

The death of Baby Jane Allas, a 40-year-old single mother of five children, was announced on Facebook by Jessica Cutrera, the American employer of Allas’ sister who raised more than $850,000 via crowdfunding for her medical expenses in the Philippines.

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“I am very sad to report Baby Jane passed away this weekend unexpectedly as a result of a kidney infection. Please keep her family in your thoughts and prayers,” Cutrera said in her Facebook post at 1:56pm on Sunday.

Allas died even before a disability discrimination case filed on her behalf by the Equal Opportunities Commission against her former employer, Bushra Jamil, was heard in District Court.

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“The EOC is very sorry to hear the news that Ms Baby Jane passed away. The EOC will discuss with her family or representative the way forward (with the case),” said Sam Ho, senior corporate communications manager of the commission.

An initial hearing of the case filed by the EOC was held at the District Court on Mar 15 but was quickly adjourned after the employer, a former beauty queen and daughter of a prominent Muslim community leader in Hong Kong, refused to speak to the other party.

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Allas’ claims at the Labour Tribunal for unpaid wages, a month’s salary in lieu of notice, return air ticket, travel allowance and half-day pay for days off not fully spent, were already settled in April 2019 with the employer paying her $30,000.

Baby Jane with 2 of her kids after winning her $30k labour claim 

Allas was flown home to Palawan on Sept 12, 2019, escorted by her sister Mary Ann, who works for Cutrera.

 

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It was from Mary Ann that Cutrera heard about Allas’ situation and sought public moral and financial support for her cause.

The crowdfunding Cutrera organized online had gathered enough funds for the patient’s medical costs, as Allas had lost access to free medical care in Hong Kong public hospitals after her termination.

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Mary Ann said Allas had been in and out of the hospital a few times before she passed away on Mar 27 at the family home in Narra due to kidney failure.

Reports said Allas supported herself and her children with earnings from a small grocery on her property which she bought last November with Cutrera’s help.

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All the while, she reportedly nurtured plans of returning to Hong Kong, where she first came to work in 2017 for Jamil’s family of six. From her salary of $4,520 a month, she remitted half that amount to her family.

Her children, whose ages range between 8 and 18 years old, are being looked after by her mother.

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HK govt keeps relaxed rules on contract extensions, home leaves, but warn of 'job hopping'

By The SUN 

Home leave requirement for FDHs has been relaxed for now

The Hong Kong government has extended two measures meant to help foreign domestic helpers and employers cope with continuing travel restrictions brought about by the Covid-19 pandemic.

In a statement issued today, Mar 29, the government said that a three-month extension will again be allowed for all FDH contracts that are expiring on or before Jun 30 this year.

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In addition, FDHs who are still unable to return to their places of origin for their home leave despite a one-year allowance given them by the Immigration Department, may now apply for a further extension until the end of their two-year contract.

The statement reminded both FDHs and their employers that all applications to be made in line with the relaxed restrictions should be subject to their mutual agreement.

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It also said that applications for further extension of contracts that had already been extended previously will not be considered. This means that employers who have already availed of the three-month extension should either renew the contract of their current FDHs or let them go.

“Based on the experience from the previous flexibility arrangements, a three-month extended period could allow sufficient time for employers to arrange their newly hired FDHs to come to Hong Kong,” said the statement.

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“If a newly hired FDH cannot be arranged to come to Hong Kong within the three-month extended period and the employer needs to continue to employ his/her FDH beyond the three-month extended period, the employer should apply for a contract renewal with the existing FDH.”

As for the requirement for FDHs to take a home leave at the end of each two-year contract period, the statement said the prevailing practice was to allow an extension of only a year.

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But because of the continuing pandemic, the government has decided to further allow FDHs to defer returning to their home countries until the end of their contract.

FDHs who had already been granted extensions of stay in line with the government announcements on Mar 21, Jun 30, Sept 30 and Dec 30 may still apply to Immigration for permission to remain in Hong Kong “until the end of their contract,” said the statement.

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However, it added that the requirement for FDHs to return to their place of origin continues to be in place.

The govt statement also warned against 'job hopping'

Meanwhile, the statement said that the Labour and Immigration Departments will continue to take “proactive” steps to combat job-hopping by certain FDHs.

The measures include an investigation by the LD into complaints about employment agencies who allegedly induce FDHs to job-hop.

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The statement said the LD has issued letters to all placement agencies for FDHs to remind them not to engage in such “improper business practices” but did not mention any sanctions being made on anyone.

“The ImmD will continue to step up efforts to combat "job-hopping" by FDHs rigorously. For suspected "job-hopping" cases, the ImmD will refuse the employment visa applications concerned and require the applicants to leave Hong Kong,” said the statement.

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5 Filipina DHs with coronavirus variant among 8 new cases

By Daisy CL Mandap 

The 5 recently arrived Filipina DHs all had the coronavirus variant

Five Filipina domestic helpers who arrived on two separate dates this month were among the 8 new cases of Covid-19 infections reported today, Mar 29.

Seven of the cases were all imported, while one was a local case, a 22-year-old male student at Baptist University whose source of infection is unknown. About 50 of his close contacts were put under quarantine.

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Between 3 and 5 preliminary positive cases have been recorded, and most are said to be imported.

According to Dr Chuang Shuk-kwan of the Centre for Health Protection, one of the infected Filipinas, a 32-year-old who flew in aboard Cebu Pacific flight 5J 272, tested positive on arrival on Mar 27.

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The four others, two aged 29, another 35, and the other 44, all arrived on Mar 12 and tested positive on their 12^th day in hotel quarantine. One came via Philippine Airlines flight PR 300 while the three others also took 5J 272.

All of them were found to have the highly infectious coronavirus strain, identified as N501Y.

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Another new arrival, a 39-year-old male crew from Turkey, also carried the variant.

The only imported case without the variant was a 28-year-old man who arrived from the United States on Mar 20 and tested positive while in hotel quarantine.

A cubicle at North Lantau hospital similar to where the variant carrier was mistakenly put 

Meanwhile,  Dr Linda Yu from the Hospital Authority said the Hong Kong Infection Control Centre of the North Lantau Hospital is reviewing admission procedures after a 45-year-old woman found to have the variant was put in a cubicle along with four other patients.

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The woman, who appears to be one of the Filipina domestic workers who tested positive on Mar 26 while in quarantine, was mistakenly put in the cubicle pending the outcome of the gene sequencing test on her, which eventually showed she had the variant.

Those with the variant, which is known to be highly infectious, are put in isolation rooms until they test negative for the virus, said Yu.

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She said all the other four patients were immediately tested and three were cleared of the virus mutation. The fourth patient had such a low viral load that the test result was inconclusive.

“We have apologized to the other patients,” said Yu, adding that “during the process there must have been miscommunication.”

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She said internal communication will be reviewed, along with the flow chart for admitting patients into the centre.

40 people from Baptist U were put under quarantine after a student was found infected

As to the lone local case, Chuang said 40 people who came into contact with him at the Baptist University campus will be put under quarantine. Those who were in three buildings he visited during the incubation period will be asked to go for testing.

The student last attended classes on Monday and developed a runny nose on Thursday, Mar 25. He tested positive for coronavirus the next day.

But earlier that day, he taught football to some kids at Victoria Park. Three other coaches and 12 children who played with him have been put under quarantine.

Another of his close contacts was his friend with whom he played badminton on Mar 25 at the Siu Sai Wan community complex.

On the same day, he tutored a student at his home in Westlands Garden in Quarry Bay. The student and his family will also be taken to a quarantine centre.

Though his case has been classified as untraceable, the patient is said to live in a residential block in Chai Wan where previous infections had been detected.

Hong Kong’s total tally is now 11,455 with 136 patients still receiving treatment in 22 public hospitals and the treatment facility in North Lantau. Among them, 10 are in critical condition, four are serious while 122 are stable.

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Philippines posts record 10,016 new Covid-19 cases

By The SUN 

The daily Covid-19 tally rose to more than 10k for the first time

The Philippines recorded its highest ever daily tally of new coronavirus cases, with the additional infections breaching the 10,000 mark for the first time on Monday, Mar 29.

The 10,016 new cases pushed the country’s total Covid-19 tally to 731,894. The number of active cases is also at an all-time high at 115,495, or 15.8 of the overall figure.

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But deaths slowed down to 16, bringing the total to 13,186.

The unprecedented increase in the number of cases came on the day Metro Manila and the provinces of Cavite, Laguna, Rizal and Bulacan were put under virtual lockdown, with the restoration of the enhanced community quarantine restriction.

Previously, the daily record was 9,838 new cases, posted last Friday.

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Among the active cases, 95.9 percent only had mild or no symptoms,  2.4% were asymptomatic, 0.7% had serious symptoms, and another 0.7% are in critical condition.

Despite the record-breaking tally, results from three laboratories were not included as they failed to submit their data on time, said the Department of Health.

Heavy traffic was reported in many areas because of ECQ restrictions (file)

Meanwhile, heavy traffic was reported on the first day of the ECQ implementation in the National Capital Region and four adjacent provinces, mainly because of delays at checkpoints set up in key places across the designated area.

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Motorists are required to show proof that their travel is essential or that they are authorized persons outside residents (Apor) like bank personnel, supermarket or restaurant workers, or other essential services staff.  

On the same day, two cities – Manila and Navotas – began inoculating senior citizens, or those aged 60 years old and above, against Covid-19.

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According to the Manila’s public information office, about 1,585 elderly residents received their first dose of the AstraZeneca jab in 12 vaccination sites across the city by 10am today.

At least 2,380 others had pre-registered at manilacovid19vaccine.com to get the jab, but Mayor Isko Moreno said walk-in applicants will also be accommodated.

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In Navotas, about 200 elderly residents were registered to receive the vaccine within the day, while another 200 were slated for inoculation Tuesday.

One million doses of Sinovac vaccines bought by the Phl from China arrived today

The Philippines, which launched its COVID-19 vaccination drive earlier this month, aims to vaccinate 50 to 70 million of its citizens by yearend to achieve herd immunity.

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Late this afternoon, government officials led by President Rodrigo Duterte welcomed the arrival of 1 million doses of vaccine from mainland company Sinovac, the first to be paid for by the country.

So-called vaccine czar Carlito Galvez, Jr. said an additional 24 million doses of the Sinovac vaccine will arrive in the coming months.

Earlier shipments from Sinovac of 1 million doses were donated by the Chinese government while 1.5 million doses of AstraZeneca were sent through the Covax facility under the leadership of the World Health Organization.

Galvez said 979,200 more AstraZeneca jabs coursed through Covax will arrive early next month.

In line with protocols set by the WHO, medical frontliners were given first priority for the vaccines, with seniors next in line.

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