Indian man in variant outbreak faces new charge, denied bail

 By Vir B. Lumicao 

The accused inside a police van as  he arrived at Kowlon City Court  (SCMP photo)

An Indian engineer identified as the index patient in the recent spread of the coronavirus variant was told that he faces an additional charge of giving false information to an Immigration officer when he appeared in Kowloon City court today, May 10.

Syed Mohammed Rizvi, 29, appeared before Magistrate Ada Yim on a charge of lying to a medical officer when providing information about his whereabouts between leaving his hotel quarantine and being found to carry the variant on Apr 16.

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He was supposed to appear with his Filipina girlfriend, Victoria Marie A. Guadiz, 31, who is accused of failing to give information to an authorized officer, but she was reportedly taken to Queen Elizabeth Hospital this morning with fever.

The prosecutor said Guadiz, a receptionist at a medical clinic in Central, could be discharged by Thursday. Yim said that in that case, the defendant should be called back to court on Friday so the charge could be read to her.

 

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The magistrate also ordered Rizvi remanded in custody until Jul 2, citing the severity of the charges against him, and his lack of family ties in Hong Kong. She took note of the prosecutor's statement that the defendant would be charged with the more serious immigration offense at the next hearing.

The prosecutor told the court that Rizvi arrived from Dubai on Mar 19 and was released from a 21-day quarantine on Apr 8. He then went to live with Guadiz in a flat in Parkes Building on Jordan Road.

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On Apr 16, he was found to carry a coronavirus variant. When interviewed by a nurse at the hospital where he was taken about his whereabouts on Apr 10-11, he reportedly said he just went around Jordan and Tsim Sha Tsui, as well as Cheung Chau.

On Apr 28, after a Filipina domestic worker in Tung Chung was found to carry a variant identical to his, Rizvi admitted he and Guadiz visited Citygate mall on Apr 11 and dined in a restaurant elsewhere in Tung Chung. They also went for a meal in Discovery Bay.

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Later it emerged that the pair had also been to several places, said the prosecutor. These included a visit to Tong Fuk village on Apr 10, after which they spent the night at Novotel hotel in Tung Chung.

“Further, they visited D2’s (Guadiz) family on Apr 13 for a gathering,” said the prosecutor.

The prosecutor said that they are considering laying further charges of giving false information to immigration officers “on each defendant.”

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Rizvi allegedly provided “false information about his contacts and whereabouts” when interviewed by an immigration officer. No further details were given but he was given a copy of the particulars of the charge.

In opposing bail, the prosecution said the defendant lacked local ties. Although a Hong Kong ID card holder, he is not a permanent resident and was merely visiting.

Thousands of people were tested in Tung Chung where 3 residents were infected with the variant  

She also said that because of Rizvi’s false information, more than 1,000 people residing in a housing block had to be sent to quarantine.

Eight people found to carry the South African variant had been linked to Rizvi, who is believed to have been infected during his 21-day quarantine at Ramada Grand in Tsim Sha Tsui.

The mini-cluster includes, apart from the two, the helper in Tung Chung, her employer and 10-month-old ward; two Filipina domestic helpers who attended a gathering hosted by Guadiz’s brother; as well as her mother.

More than 2,000 residents of at least four housing blocks were moved to quarantine centers until the direct link among the eight infections was uncovered.

Rizvi pleaded to be allowed bail, saying he had two uncles in Hong Kong with whom he could live while waiting for his next court appointment. He also promised to surrender his passport and report to police regularly if he is granted bail.

However, when Magistrate Yim asked him where he stayed after being released from hospital, Rizvi said he stayed with a friend in Jordan.

He said he always stayed with his uncles whenever he came to Hong Kong because they were his family, but he had to live in his friend’s flat in Jordan because he was planning to return to Dubai and had left his luggage there.

The prosecution said police are still making further enquiry and applied to obtain CCTV footages from the shops that Rizvi and his girlfriend visited.

Rizvi said he needs a lawyer but Yim replied he does not qualify for the Duty Lawyer Service so he would need to find a private counsel.

The magistrate set the trial from Jul 2 to 7 and told the defendant to engage a lawyer.

Yim also told Rizvi he could apply for bail again on May 18, during his bail review in the same court. Alternatively he could file a bail application at the Court of First Instance.

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Testing sites near-empty on last day of mandatory Covid-19 tests for FDHs

By Vir B. Lumicao 

Hardly anyone turned up to get tested on Chater Garden

An expected last-minute rush by migrant domestic workers to submit to mandatory Covid-19 tests did not happen at designated mobile testing centers today, May 9, perplexing both workers’ groups and health staff.

By 11 am, the testing centers at Chater Garden and Edinburgh Place in Central and at Victoria Park in Causeway Bay looked deserted as only a few workers were seen going up to the long line of tents for pre-swab registration or testing.

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Staff manning the testing site at Edinburgh Place said they opened at 8am but didn’t encounter a deluge of workers going for the test similar to what they faced the previous Sunday, May 2.

A few people came by at the Edinburgh mobile testing site, but many were non-FDHs

The same thing happened at Chater Garden, where the mobile testing van was moved after initially setting up on nearby Chater Road.  

Chief Secretary Matthew Cheung said in his blog today that a majority of the helpers had complied with the test order.

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He said that as of May 7, the number of those who had been tested had gone up to 280,000 while 50,000 more had booked appointments at CTCs. That meant that only about 40,000 more should have gone for tests during the weekend. 

Given that 52,000 FDWs were recorded to have received tests on May 2 alone, testing the remaining number of people should have been achievable.

The Victoria Park testing station dedicated to FDHs was near-empty

But Dolores Balladares, chair of the United Filipinos in Hong Kong and spokesperson of Asian Migrants Coordinating Body, said this did not explain the very poor turnout on the last day of mandatory testing.

“The low turnout is worrying because, if we go by the government’s estimate that more than 200,000 domestic workers have already been tested and about 100,000 have booked online, then we should be expecting about 50,000 today,” said Balladares.

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She said her group is concerned because those who failed to beat the deadline could be issued with a fixed penalty ticket costing $5,000 each.

Even if employers are obliged to pay the fine, any friction that could arise because of this could result in the worker shelling out the money just to keep her job, she said.

Balladares says AMCB remains opposed to mandatory tests and jabs

A possibility that Balladares did not discount was that some workers had opted to collect a sample bottle from the MTR or the post office and submitted their specimen during the weekend at collection stations in anticipation of the rush.

A number would have also been exempted from the test order because they had been fully vaccinated, meaning they had their second dose of the Covid vaccine on or before Apr 25.

 

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The migrant support group had solicited donations from various individuals and groups which they used to buy bottles of water and biscuits, in anticipation of the thousands of workers who they thought would line up at the testing centers.

The previous Sunday and several days afterwards, hundreds of FDWs had queued up for hours outside testing stations in a bid to beat the deadline for the compulsory tests.

Cartons of bottled water were given away to bystanders at end of the day

Balladares said 94 boxes of bottled water were bought from donations and stacked on Chater Road and distributed in Edinburgh Place, Tamar Park  and Victoria Park “to give a little comfort from the heat of the sun or rain” to the expected crowd.

But by early afternoon there were hardly any workers waiting to get tested that the bottled water meant for the testing applicants ended up being given away to people hanging out in surrounding areas.

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AMCB also set up tables on Chater Road to provide information and free blood pressure readings while some volunteers went around handing out leaflets and water, and reminded workers that it was the last day for the tests.

Balladares said the AMCB maintains its opposition to mandatory testing and vaccination for the migrant domestic workers because the policy targets the workers as a community group whereas everyone in Hong Kong is equally exposed to the virus.

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She said the group still wants a public apology from Labor Secretary Law Chi-kwong for discriminating against the migrant domestic workers by proposing compulsory jabs for them.

Earlier today, the Hong Kong Confederation of Trade Unions called a press conference to announce their opposition to mandatory testing and vaccination of migrant domestic workers, said Balladares, who was invited to the meeting along with other workers’ group leaders.

She said the HKCTU instead advocated mandatory testing and vaccination for all migrants in Hong Kong, including the thousands of asylum-seekers who are not covered by the policy and could not afford to pay for their own testing and jobs.

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Quarantine rules may still be tightened if untraceable variant found

 By Vir B. Lumicao 

Dr Chan says stricter quarantine rules will be enforced if the variant's source is unknown

Health Secretary Dr Sophia Chan says quarantine rules may still be tightened for residents of buildings with confirmed patients carrying mutant variants if such cases have no known sources.

She made the statement in a television program today, May 9, to clarify the policy shift announced on Friday that people living in buildings with mutated strains need not spend 21 days’ quarantine in a government facility.

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“We think that the newly adjusted measures are appropriate as they were rolled out after our well-thought-out consideration with the experts taking into account the latest infection data and the epidemic situation. The existing variant cases were traceable with an identifiable source,” Chan said.

“We will keep a close eye on the situation. If there is an unknown source for new variant cases, we won’t rule out adjusting the current Covid-19 control measures,” she added.

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Under the adjusted measures, residents in variant-infected blocks will be allowed to quarantine at home but should submit themselves to four periodic tests.

Only those living in the same household as an infected person or staying in environments such as subdivided flats will have to undergo full quarantine.

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The policy shift was announced after health officials said they had successfully stopped the spread of a mutated variant of the virus first found in a 29-year-old Indian man who tested positive days after completing his 21-day hotel quarantine.

Seven other infected people have been linked directly to the index patient, who together with his Filipina girlfriend, face charges of withholding information from contact-tracers. They are scheduled to appear in Kowloon City court tomorrow.

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Delays in confirming the pair’s whereabouts during the infection period led health officials to lock down several residential blocks and send thousands of residents to quarantine. It also prompted mandatory testing of all FDHs in the city.

All residents of the building where the infected couple lived were sent to quarantine centers 

Meanwhile, only one coronavirus case was confirmed today by Hong Kong health officials, pertaining to an asymptomatic female passenger who arrived from Argentina on May 7 and later tested positive for the N501Y variant.

The Centre for Health Protection said the 52-year-old woman arrived on Emirates flight EK384 from Dubai via Bangkok.

The new patient took to 11,808 the total number of confirmed cases in Hong Kong.

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Fewer than five preliminary positive cases were found, a CHP staff said.

Earlier, the president of the Hong Kong Medical Association, warned in an RTHK program that vaccination is the only hope against Covid-19, which could be here to stay, unlike the Sars outbreak in 2003.

But Dr Gabriel Choi Kin said distrust of the government is holding back efforts to get as many residents to get vaccinated as soon as possible.

Tunghayan ang isa na namang kwentong Dream Love.

 

He noted that only around 12 percent of qualified residents have taken at least one dose of the vaccine, which is a long shot away from the 70 percent needed for a place to attain herd immunity.

“Trust of the authority is an issue which dictates whether the citizens will want to get vaccinated or not,” Choi said, adding the offered incentives for fully vaccinated people are complicated and not interesting enough to get the jab.

But he said the even with herd immunity variant strains could still be a threat, so border controls should remain strict and adequate.

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HK’s first 2 variant patients charged with hiding information

By Daisy CL Mandap

The two will appear in Kowloon City Court on Monday, May 10

A 29-year-old Indian man and his 31-year-old Filipina girlfriend who were the first locally identified carriers of a coronavirus variant have been charged in court with failing to disclose relevant information to investigators doing contact tracing.

A statement issued by the Department of Health late on Saturday said the man was charged with one count of giving false or misleading information while the woman faces a count of failing to comply with the requirement to give information.

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The alleged offences are said to be contrary to section 3(4) and section 3(2) of the Prevention and Control of Disease (Disclosure of Information) Regulation (Cap. 599D) respectively.

According to the statement, the man is suspected of giving false or misleading information to an authorized officer of the Centre for Health Protection during an epidemiological investigation conducted on Apr 16.

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The woman is accused of failing to comply with the legal requirement to give information to an authorized officer on Apr 17.

The two will appear at Kowloon City Magistracy on May 10 where their case is scheduled for mention.

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They were arrested earlier on Saturday and taken to the Yau Ma Tei police station for questioning.

Five other cases involving the coronavirus variant had emerged in the community after the two were found infected. As the source was initially unknown in at least two of the cases, officials feared that a silent transmission was going on, particularly among foreign domestic helpers.

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This led the government to order all of the city’s 370,000 FDHs to undergo tests for Covid-19.

At the same time, entire buildings where the infected patients lived were evacuated and all residents sent off to 21-day quarantine.

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Only after more information was obtained from the two that a direct link between them and the other cases was established.

Health experts say the Indian resident who flew in from Dubai on Mar 19 is the index patient in a cluster of variant cases involving eight people, five of them Filipinas. The two others are the female employer and a 10-month-old baby girl under the care of one of the Filipinas.

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The DH statement said that concealing or providing false or misleading information to an authorised officer is “grossly irresponsible” as this may hinder contact tracing process and pose serious threat to public health.

The statement warned that “resolute actions will be taken against anyone who has breached the relevant regulations.”

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HK’s first 2 variant carriers arrested for suspected cover-up

By The SUN 

Parkes Building was evacuated after the two were found to carry the variant

Hong Kong Police have confirmed the arrest this morning of the Indian male returnee and his Filipina girlfriend who were identified as the first two local patients found with the Covid-19 variant, on suspicion of providing misleading information to investigators doing contact tracing.

Health experts say the 29-year-old Indian man who flew in from Dubai on Mar 19 is the index patient in a cluster of variant cases involving eight people, three of them Filipina domestic workers.

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His 31-year-old Filipina girlfriend with whom he lived in Parkes building in Jordan after completing his 21-day hotel quarantine at Ramada Grand Hotel in Tsim Sha Tsui was subsequently found to also carry the variant.

According to media reports, the two were detained at the Yau Ma Tei police station for questioning. The man was reportedly held on suspicion of giving misleading information, while the woman was arrested for refusing to provide details of her whereabouts during the infection period.

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The reports said the man was discharged from the hospital on Apr 28 and the woman on May 1.

They were arrested just as the residents of Parkes Building who were all moved to a quarantine center were allowed to return home after completing 21 days of isolation.

A Parkes resident returning home after 21 days of quarantine

A police spokeswoman said they would not add to what has already been reported, and suggested the Department of Health be consulted for more information.

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The DH is reportedly consulting with the Department of Justice on whether prosecution is warranted.

Under the Prevention and Control of Disease Ordinance, it is an offense to refuse to provide information required by a medical practitioner, or give misleading information. An offender could be liable to imprisonment of up to six months.

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Health officials who reported about the man’s variant infection on Apr 14 had said initially that he did not go around much, and mentioned only two bank branches near Jordan, and a restaurant in Cheung Chau among the places he visited.

But after a Filipina domestic worker living in Tung Chung, along with her 10-month-old ward were found to carry the same genomes of the virus as the Indian man, more details emerged about the pair’s whereabouts during the infection period.

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The two reportedly told investigators they had been to Citygate outlet mall and had dinner at a curry place, both in Tung Chung. They also related going to another restaurant in Discovery Bay.

The subsequent discovery that three Filipina helpers who live in different districts carried the same variant led to more disclosures from the duo.

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Health officials said the couple had dinner with the woman’s family members in Chai Wan on Apr 13. Then on Apr 18, three of the guests in that gathering held another party at a Sham Shui Po flat where the three Filipina helpers, including the one in Tung Chung, were present.

Linked to this cluster apart from the couple and the three domestic helpers are the woman’s mother whose infection was confirmed on Friday, the baby girl in Tung Chung, and the infant’s mother who tested positive after being moved to a quarantine center.

Meanwhile, four of the five new cases reported today are all women, aged 29 to 40, who had recently returned from Indonesia and tested positive while in quarantine. The fifth is a one-year-old boy who came from Spain and was found infected while in hotel quarantine.

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