Churches now allowed to fill 50% of capacity under relaxed gathering rules

By The SUN

A church filled to 30% of its capacity under previous restrictions

Churches and other premises used for religious gatherings can be filled to up to 50% of their capacity under relaxed new rules that take effect today, Apr 29, and should last for 14 days until May 12.

A press statement issued by the government also said that if religious events are held outdoors where no food or drink is served, except as part of a religious ritual, the intake could be up to 100% of the capacity.

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The news should come as a relief to many churchgoers who have been routinely turned away for public masses in the past weeks because the previous restrictions allowed venues to be filled to only up to 30% of their capacity.

However, the general rule that allows only four people to gather in public stays in place.

According to the government, the restrictions may be relaxed further, depending on the outcome of the initial phase.

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"Depending on the epidemic development and the implementation of the first phase of measures under the 'vaccine bubble', we will review and adjust the details of the measures and consider further relaxation of restrictions in respect of the operation of restaurants and other premises under the second phase,” said its statement. 

The news comes as 15 new Covid-19 cases, all of them imported, were reported today. They took the total number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Hong Kong to 11,771.

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The bulk of the cases, or 13 people aged between 8 to 78, had flown in from Nepal. Eleven tested positive while under quarantine, and two on their arrival at the airport.

The two other patients are both females, one aged 30 who had come in from Indonesia, and another aged 32, who flew in from India. Both were asymptomatic and tested positive while in hotel quarantine.

Restaurants are not keen to comply with vaccination requirements just to take in more diners

Meanwhile, as part of the easing of restrictions, pubs, karaoke bars and party rooms have been allowed to reopen, five months after they were shut down in the wake of a surge in Covid-19 cases.

However, they are being allowed to resume operations only if all their staff and customers have received at least one dose of a Covid-19 vaccine, unless they are declared unfit for vaccination because of health reasons.

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Business operators say they will have difficulty complying with the new regulations under the so-called “vaccine bubble” because many of their customers and part-time staff are young people who do not want to take the vaccine.

Many restaurants, on the other hand, are not keen to snap up the offer to extend their service hours up to 2am and seat up to eight people to a table, because it comes with even stricter requirements.

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To avail of this concession, all their staff must have been fully vaccinated, and their dine-in customers should have had at least one dose of the vaccine. In addition, customers should use the LeaveHomeSafe app before being allowed to dine in.

Under the new restrictions, tour groups comprising not more than 30 persons are now allowed, as long as they are organized by licensed travel agents whose frontline staff must have received at least one dose of a Covid vaccine. Staff who are medically unfit to receive a vaccine should undergo a swab test for Covid-19 within seven days before the start of the tour.

For wedding ceremonies where no food or drink is served, the number of guests will increase to a maximum of 50 from the present 20 if the ceremony is held indoors, and 100 if outdoors.

For business meetings held to comply with an Ordinance or regulations, up to 50 people may now attend (from the present 20) if held indoors, and 100 if outdoors.

Details of the new Regulations can be viewed by clicking this link: 

https://www.info.gov.hk/gia/general/202104/28/P2021042800868.htm

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Elderly male DH gets suspended jail term for packing boxes on day-off

By Vir B. Lumicao 

The court said the accused had a clean record in the 30 years that he had worked in HK

An elderly Filipino male helper caught packing door-to-door boxes outside a freight firm in Kowloon last month was meted a 6-week jail sentence in Shatin Court today, Apr 28, after he pleaded guilty to a charge of breaching his visa condition.

Two younger Filipino recognizance holders, who pleaded not guilty to the same charge of taking up illegal work, claiming they were just packing boxes for female friends, will be tried in late July.

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They were both charged with “taking employment while being a person in respect of whom a removal order is in force.”

The first defendant, 65-year-old R. Israel, was overjoyed when Magistrate Jason Wan said he was suspending the sentence for 12 months due to the special circumstances of the case.

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The prosecution charged Israel with “breach of condition of stay” for doing a job outside his Indian employer’s house and different from the stated nature of his work in the employment contract.

According to the charge, Immigration officers carrying out an operation against illegal workers in San Po Kong, Kowloon, around 1:30pm on Mar 14 saw a Genex Cargo lorry parked outside an industrial building on Tai Yau St.

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The officers saw Israel take out two boxes filled with various stuff from the lorry. He then packed and sealed the boxes and took them to the back of the vehicle.

At 5:46pm, the officers checked Israel’s Hong Kong ID. They found out he was a domestic helper who was hired by his fourth employer in Tung Chung on Dec. 25, 2017.

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On Mar 20, he said in a statement he was instructed by a cargo company staff to bring down the boxes of his woman friend and pack them on the pavement. He said after packing the boxes and loading them on the lorry, the woman gave him $200.

In mitigation, the defense counsel said Israel is a widower, as his wheelchair-bound wife who used to be a helper in Hong Kong died last month in the Philippines. His son aged 40 suffered injuries in his head during an attack and is now mentally handicapped.

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The lawyer said his client had to do illegal work to send more money to the Philippines because the pandemic and his son’s condition had made life harder for them. He now wants to go home to be with his son, the counsel said. 

The lawyer also challenged Immigration’s prohibition on part-time job being done on the worker’s day off, saying this policy had been questioned in court many times.

The defendant’s employer also sent a letter to the court describing him as a man of good character and hardworking, the lawyer said.

In sentencing, Wan said the defendant was doing the work part-time on his day off and was not paid a high wage. “If he worked full-time over a multiple number of days, it would have been a serious case,” he said.

Wan said he considered that Israel worked here for over 30 years and had a clear record.

“Together with what happened to his family back in the Philippines, the sentence will be suspended,” Wan said. But he warned the defendant not to commit any criminal offense during the next 12 months so that he won’t go to jail.

The two other defendants, A. Quitoy and J. Entendez, were arrested also on Mar 14 at the same site in San Po Kong after they packed boxes. But they said they did it for their girlfriends without pay.

After their not guilty plea, Wan set their trial for July 27, to be continued the next day if needed. He allowed $5,000 bail for each of the two men who had been in custody since their arrest.

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Two Filipina DHs with variant among 7 new Covid-19 cases

By Daisy CL Mandap 

Two Filipina DHs who were in hotel quarantine in HK were both found with the variant (File)

Two Filipina domestic helpers are the only variant carriers among seven new coronavirus cases recorded today, Apr 28, according to the Center for Health Protection. Six of the new cases are imported while one is local, and linked to a previous infection.

One of the Filipinas found with the variant is 29 years old, and flew in aboard Cebu Pacific flight 5J272 on Apr 19. She was found positive when tested on her seventh day in quarantine at the MetroPark Hotel in Homantin. However, she started having symptoms on Apr 24.

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The additional test during the quarantine period has been put into effect only this week. Previously, a newly arrived traveler was tested on arrival, and on the 12^th and 19^th day of the hotel quarantine.

The second Filipina, who is 25 years old, arrived on Apr 14 aboard Cathay Pacific flight CX 906, which has been under an airline-specific travel ban since Apr 19. She was found to carry the mutated virus on her 12^th day sample.

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Three other imported cases, aged 11, 39 and 63, all arrived from Nepal via flight RA 409 on Apr 20. They tested positive on their 7^th day sample while spending their quarantine in different hotels.

The sixth and last imported case is a 6-month-old baby girl who is the 57^th patient to be detected from the virus-plagued Vistara flight UK 6395 which flew into Hong Kong on Apr 4. It was also put under the airline-specific ban for two weeks starting Apr 19.

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There was only one local case, and it involves a 28-year-old woman from Kwai Chung who is linked to previous infections.

An expert says quarantine rules should be relaxed for returning residents who are fully vaccinated

Meanwhile, an epidemiologist from the University of Hong Kong has called on the government to relax quarantine rules for fully vaccinated returning residents to encourage more people to take the Covid jab.

“I think one of the things we’ve really got to look at carefully is relaxing the quarantine for people arriving back in Hong Kong who have been fully vaccinated because they don’t pose nearly as much risk as arriving travelers who haven’t been vaccinated,” Prof. Benjamin Cowling has been quoted as saying.

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“That would encourage a lot of people to get vaccinated, that would bring the vaccine coverage up, and Hong Kong would be safer as a result.”

So far, the only place where Hong Kong residents can travel to without having to spend quarantine on their return is Singapore, under a “travel bubble” recently forged between the two governments, and is due to take effect on May 26.

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The Hong Kong government’s Covid-19 website shows 454,519 people, or nearly 7% of the total qualified population have so far received two doses of either the Sinovac or BioNTech vaccine. Another 872,458 people, or 13.3% of those qualified to take the vaccine, have had at least one jab.

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Bars to reopen Thu under strict rules, as Covid-19 cases stay low

By The SUN 

Bars can reopen only if all their staff and customers have had at least one coronavirus jab

Hong Kong’s bars and pubs will be allowed to reopen on Thursday as part of relaxed social distancing measures, but all staff and customers should have had at least the first dose of a Covid-19 vaccine.

Health Secretary Dr Sophia Chan made the announcement at a press conference today, Apr 27, held to launch the so-called vaccine bubble for catering premises.

“The reasons why we are trying our best to work with the trade and reopen these relatively high risk places is on the one hand, we want to resume a normal life but on the other hand, we’re also responsible to mitigate the risk associated with these openings and relaxations,” she said.

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Under the stringent new rules, restaurants, pubs, karaoke bars, sauna and party rooms will be allowed to stay open until 2am, but customers will be asked to show proof they have been vaccinated against the coronavirus.

They will also be required to use the government’s LeaveHomeSafe app before being allowed entry.

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On top of these, only a maximum of two people can sit together at each table in pubs and clubs, and four at karaoke bars and party rooms.

The health chief said that restaurants can also stay open until 2am if their staff have been fully vaccinated, and they set up a designated area for customers who have taken at least the first Covid-19 jab.

Restaurants may also remain open until 2am if their staff are fully vaccinated

Within this area, up to eight customers can be seated at one table, and banquets of up to 100 diners can also be held.

If staff have only taken the first dose of a vaccine, restaurants may also set up a specific area, but they are allowed to operate only until midnight and seat only up to six people to a table.

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Diners will be asked to prove they have been vaccinated when entering restaurants that have been allowed to stay open until 2am.

The government said the venues will get a new app, so they can scan their customers’ digital or paper vaccination records.

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Despite the tightened regulations which were approved by the Executive Council this morning, hundreds of Filipinos employed in the catering industry are expected to welcome the reopening of businesses that were among the hardest-hit by the pandemic.

The officials said restrictions on weddings, annual general meetings and religious gatherings will also be relaxed if participants have taken the first dose of the vaccine.

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Chan said that local tours with a maximum of 30 participants can resume if frontline staff have taken the first dose of a vaccine.

The “vaccine bubble” was launched as Hong Kong reported eight confirmed Covid-19 patients, five of them imported. They include a man aged 31 from Turkey and a girl of 15 from Japan who both arrived Sunday carrying the coronavirus strain N501Y.

The man tested at the airport upon arrival from Istanbul on a Turkish Airlines flight, so did the girl, who flew in on a Japan Airlines flight from Tokyo, a spokesman of the Centre for Health Protection said.

A 9-month-old Indian baby girl who arrived Apr 18 on a Vistara flight from Mumbai was found positive on her ninth day of quarantine with her mother at Ramada Hong Kong Harbour View in Sai Ying Pun.

The spokesman said test results for the type of Covid-19 strain the baby had were still pending.

The other imported cases were both female domestic helpers, an Indonesian aged 41 who arrived Sunday on a Garuda flight from Jakarta and an Indian aged 34 who arrived Apr 4 on a Vistara flight from Delhi.

The Indian woman tested positive at the end of her 21-day quarantine at the Silka Seaview Hotel in Yau Ma Tei, the CHP said.

Three of the new patients are local cases who are friends and close contacts of a 60-year-old man from Block 4 of La Cite Noble in Tseung Kwan O who tested positive of the virus on Saturday, a Department of Health spokesman said.

They were a man aged 51 who was staying in the Royal Garden Hotel in Tsim Sha Tsui, a man aged 42 from Block 4, Bamboo Mansion, Whampoa Garden in Hung Hom, and a man aged 31 who lives at Tower 7, Ocean Pride residential estate in Tsuen Wan.

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FDWs told, don’t rely on agencies to ensure your visa status

By Daisy CL Mandap 

Rachel says her misplaced trust in her agent led her to be charged with overstaying

A migrant support organization is warning foreign domestic workers to make sure the employment agencies that promised them jobs did submit their new work contracts to the Immigration Department, or they might end up overstaying their visas.

This comes amid reports made to the Mission for Migrant Workers that several FDWs had ended up overstaying because they relied on their recruiters’ word that their new employment contracts were already under process by Immigration.

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One such case involves Rachel G., who did not realize she had already overstayed her visa for three months because she was all the while thinking that she had a pending employment contract under consideration by Immigration.

Rachel, 42,  said she did go to Immigration a couple of times, and each time, she was just asked for proof that her new employment contract was already being processed so she need not ask for a visa extension.

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What Rachel showed the officers were the text messages between her and her agent she knew only as Benson, who repeatedly assured her that the employment contract she signed on Dec. 28 last year was already with Immigration.

She said she trusted Benson, who reportedly holds office in Sai Kung and Ma On Shan, because he was the one who placed her with her previous employer.

Once, Benson even went to Immigration with her, and gave the officer the name and number of the elderly woman who was supposed to hire Rachel. The officer reportedly called the would-be employer to confirm the contract.

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But on Apr 19, Monday, Rachel was finally told no employment contract was submitted in her name. She was directed to go to the visa extension counter, where it was found out that her last day of visa was as stamped in her passport, which was Feb 3 this year.

Immediately, Rachel was taken to custody, and detained for the next two days. On Apr 22, she appeared in Shatin Magistrates Court, charged with violating her visa conditions.

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She pleaded guilty, but said it was only because she was advised by her duty lawyer that if she denied the charge, she could be imprisoned for a month and a half.

Rachel is now out on recognizance, meaning she is not being sent back home just yet while she considers whether she should file an appeal within the 14 days she was given after her sentence.

She said Benson, who operates two agencies in Sai Kung and Ma On Shan whose names she could not be sure of because they were written in Chinese, is no longer taking her calls. 

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Quite belatedly, Rachel again turned for help to the Mission, which just six years ago, had picked her up in the wee hours outside a hotel in Western, where she ended up after being terminated by a previous employer.

Since that fateful day, Rachel had gone back to her home in Antipolo City, but returned to Hong Kong and finished a two-year contract in November last year. That was when she crossed paths with Benson, who secured her a new employer. However, she was dismissed after only a month.

But because she felt the agent had looked after her well, Rachel decided to cast her lot with him again. It was an unfortunate decision that led to her being arrested, handcuffed, and held in jail for two days, before being convicted of a crime, which at the very least, she did not have any intention of committing.

Once again, the Mission has come to her rescue. Case officer Edwina Antonio is pleading her case with Immigration, and has made an appointment with a renowned human rights lawyer to seek other remedies that could be pursued so Rachel is given justice.

Antonio says FDWs should not rely on anyone to ensure they remain in HK legally

Antonio says Rachel's does not appear to be an isolated case, as she had reported on four other people who claimed to have found themselves in the same situation when she was being interviewed by Immigration officers.

“Mukhang maraming mga stranded workers na hindi naipapasa ng agency ang mga papeles sa Immigration kaya sila na-overstay,” said Antonio.

(Many workers stranded her end up overstaying their visas because the agency failed to submit their documents to Immigration).

She said the Mission can only speculate on the motivation behind the seemingly deliberate attempts by agencies, or people purporting to be legitimate recruiters, to mislead migrant workers into thinking their continuous stay in Hong Kong is assured.

One reason she could think of is money, especially if the worker is charged upfront for an amount that is way above the legal limit, which is 10% of the first monthly salary.

In Rachel’s case, while she was not asked for money outright, she said she had been in touch with a Filipino couple who claimed to have paid Benson at least $10,000, and now fear suffering the same fate as she had.

She also recalled being told by Benson that she would have to pay his agency after her new employment visa was approved. 

A recent search of the agency names Benson reportedly used showed that neither is registered with the Employment Agencies Administration of the HK Labour Department, which could also be why he did not file an employment contract for her as he promised.

Another reason could be the intense competition among agencies to secure as many clients as possible from the fast  dwindling number of FDWs in Hong Kong who are being allowed by Immigration to process new employment contracts here. That could lead them to lie about getting them a new employer, just so the worker does not go to another agency.

Antonio said that whatever the reason, Filipino helpers who are hoping to be allowed to remain in Hong Kong after their work contracts are prematurely terminated should ensure that they do not fall foul with the law by taking charge of their own affairs.

They should not rely on agents or other people who might assure them that their work status is being looked after, because ultimately, it is their own future which is at stake. 

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