$10.8 million flat, cash prizes to be raffled off to vaccinated residents

By The SUN

A flat in this housing project is the grand prize in the raffle for vaccinated residents

Two of Hong Kong’s biggest property developers have teamed up to hold a lottery to encourage more people to get vaccinated against Covid-19, with a brand new flat worth $10.8 million as the grand prize.

Only permanent residents aged 18 and above who have received two doses of a vaccine will be eligible for the lucky draw for the flat, to be jointly funded by The Sino Group’s Ng Teng Fong Charitable Foundation along with Chinese Estates Holdings.

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However, the sponsors will also donate 20 pre-paid or credit cards each loaded with $100,000 for which not only permanent residents will be eligible, but anyone holding a Hong Kong ID card, including foreign domestic helpers.

The flat to be given away to just one lucky permanent resident measures 449 sq. ft. and is located at Sino's Grand Central development in Kwun Tong.

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To apply for the raffle draw for both the flat and cash prizes, Hong Kong residents should have had two doses of a coronavirus vaccine and submit their applications on or before Sept 1, when all community vaccination centres in the city are due to close.

Those who received their two jabs before today’s announcement are also eligible.

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Daryl Ng, deputy chairman of Sino Group, said he hopes the vaccination rate in HK will increase because of the raffle draw.

“Vaccination is an important step in our fight against the pandemic, and to protect ourselves, our loved ones, our friends and colleagues,” Ng said.

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The lottery is the biggest incentive offered so far to encourage more residents to get vaccinated, amid worries over the low take-up for the vaccine in Hong Kong.

60k air tickets will also be raffled off to vaccinated residents 

Yesterday, the Hong Kong Airport Authority also announced a plan to raffle off 60,000 air tickets to vaccinated residents and airport staff with September as the closing date for applications.

Details for both lotteries, including the mechanics for taking part, have yet to be announced.

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Latest government figures show only 1,319,725 (17.6%) of the city’s 7.5 million population have received their first dose of a vaccine. Of these, 966,446 have been fully vaccinated with two jabs, or just 12.9% of the population.

Health experts say a place needs to have at least 70% of its population vaccinated to attain herd immunity.

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Government officials fear that its stockpile of vaccines which are due to expire by September could be wasted if the vaccination rate does not spike soon. They also worry that the low take-up rate could impact their ability to procure enough doses in future.

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Flight ban blocks some 3k HK-bound Filipino helpers, says agency group

By Vir B. Lumicao 

HK's flight ban has stranded about 3k Filipino workers in Manila, says agency group

About 3,000 Hong Kong-bound Filipino helpers are stranded in Manila due to the flight ban imposed by the SAR on the Philippines, an employment agency group claims.

The Hong Kong Union of Employment Agencies, whose members recruit and deploy helpers from the Philippines, said the flight ban that the SAR imposed starting on Apr 20 has caused a lot of problems for both workers and employers.

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The group is so alarmed by the situation that it called on the government to donate coronavirus vaccines to the Philippines and Indonesia, so they could inoculate their Hong Kong-bound domestic workers.

It is also urging the government to exempt from the flight ban Filipino workers with visas so they could come and start working for their Hong Kong employers.

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At least one health expert has suggested donating some two million doses of Covid vaccines that Hong Kong has stockpiled and are due to expire soon, to countries that are in short supply.

However, when the idea was first broached to health authorities, they said transporting the vaccines, especially those from BioNTech which require extremely low temperatures for storage, could create a problem.

The agencies urge HK to donate its excess vaccines to FDH-sending countries

The full impact of the flight ban may only be known when the Immigration Department releases its FDH population statistics for May, which should reflect the cessation of worker arrivals from Manila, plus the number of visa rejections for those already here.

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As of Apr 30, statistics from the Immigration Department showed a drop of 298 in the number of Filipino helpers in Hong Kong from the March level, while the Indonesian helper population fell by 206.

However, the HKUEA claims a further 2,000 FDHs were denied visas on suspicion of being ‘job hoppers’ since mid-April this year alone.

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The HKUEA said the entry curb and visa rejections have further worsened the domestic helper supply situation, yet the government has not responded to its earlier call this month to address the problem.

Group chair Thomas Chan said that all they have received from the government was an acknowledgment from “low ranking officers” of the Labour Department that Chief Executive Carrie Lam had received their message, and would reply.

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However, they have yet to receive a reply, Chan said.

“As what we put in our position paper, almost 5,000 workers lost the chance to work in HK and more employers lost the confidence to hire workers from the Philippines, given uncertain situations ahead,” Chan told The SUN.

Hong Kong announced a flight ban on India, Pakistan and the Philippines in the first hours of Apr 19, just a day before the travel restriction was to take effect. Nepal was added to the list a few days later.

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This followed the announcement that the mutated N501Y variant had spread in the community for the first time through an Indian returnee from Dubai, who it later turned out, had acquired it during his hotel quarantine.

However, government health records show that the biggest sources of the coronavirus variant found in Hong Kong were new arrivals from the Philippines, India and Pakistan.

HKUEA members at a press conference (File)

Chan said his association welcomes the Hong Kong government’s intention to fight and control the disease and is willing to cooperate at best.

“However, we are disappointed (by) the government’s inactive response. We have had meetings with the consuls general of related countries and they have also welcomed our initiative,” he said.

“We hereby strongly request the government to donate vaccines, given some of them are going to expire soon. And we are also willing to cooperate with Philippine partners to best control the flow of domestic helpers to Hong Kong,” Chan said.

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No new Covid-19 case in HK for 2nd straight day

By The SUN 

 It is the first time in nearly a year that HK recorded zero infection for 2nd day straight day

Hong Kong’s Centre for Health Protection has announced that no new confirmed cases of coronavirus infections were reported today, May 28.

The total Covid-19 tally in Hong Kong remains at 11,837.

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It is the first time in nearly a year that no new infections were reported for the second straight day.

Meanwhile, the Labour Department has reminded all foreign domestic workers that they have only until Sunday, May 30, to comply with the second round of compulsory testing notice for Covid-19.

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In a statement issued today, the Department said it was appealing to all FDHs to get tested as soon as possible and avoid last-minute rush.

It also called on them to get vaccinated “to protect their own health and the health of their employees’ families and others.”

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The second round of compulsory testing for FDHs began on May 15, just six days after the initial round ended. A total of four infections, involving two Indonesians and two Filipinas, have been uncovered in the ongoing mandatory testing for FDHs. In the first round, three Filipina DHs, all found to carry the mutated variant, N501Y, were detected.]

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As in all other compulsory testing notices, all those who have received two doses of a Covid-19 vaccine for at least 14 days are exempt.

Labour’s statement also warned that the government will seriously enforce compliance with the CTN, saying anyone who fails to get tested within the prescribed period commits an offence and may be fined a fixed penalty of $5,000.

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Anyone issued with a fixed penalty ticket will also be ordered to comply with the CTN within a specified period. Those who resist the second order could be made to pay a further fine of $25,000 and jailed for six months.

All FDHs who got tested should keep the SMS notification of their test result for checking by law enforces.

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If they are exempted because of full vaccination they should either download their electronic vaccination records, save it on their mobile phones, or bring along printouts.

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Lam Tin suicide not a Filipina DH, police says

By Daisy CL Mandap 

The victim lies lifeless on the pavement.

The woman who was reported to have jumped to her death in Lam Tin is not a Filipina domestic helper, a police spokeswoman said Thursday night.

She made the clarification on being told that people who live in Lei Ting House, Lei On Court in Lam Tin had been spreading the story that the apparent suicide victim was a Filipina DH, and that her employer had been trying to keep her death a secret.

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According to the police, the woman involved was a 34-year-old Chinese woman named Y. Huang. Someone alerted police at about 4:48pm on Wednesday about finding the woman unconscious on the platform below the building where she lived.

Paramedics who were sent to the scene found the woman unconscious and rushed her to United Christian Hospital where she was declared dead. No other details were given.

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A Filipina domestic worker who claims to live in the same apartment block had circulated a photo of a woman wearing denim pants and black shirt lying on a concrete pavement, with her head covered by a crying emoticon.

The Filipina named Mylene said she took the photo from a window of her employer’s flat in the same block. She said the victim lived in a flat on the 21^st floor of the building.

Picture of the victim, taken by a neighbor,

Mylene also said the information that the deceased was a Filipina DH came from an Indonesian helper who lives next door the victims.

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“Kagabi daw twice sya (Indonesian) pinuntahan sa flat nila ng police at nagtanong. Kaunting interview daw kung kilala niya yung namatay na helper, kung may mga narinig ba daw na ingay,” Mylene said, referring to her Indonesian informant.

(Last night the police went to their house twice to ask questions. They did a bit of interview, asking questions like if she knew the dead helper, if she heard any noise).

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 "Yun din ang sabi ng anak ng amo ko, na Pinay yung namatay,” she insisted, even after being told that her information was all wrong. (That was what my employer’s son also said, that the one who died was a Filipina).

This was not the first time that members of the community had spread wrong information about  suicide victims being Filipina DHs.

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In the latest case, a woman who fell to her death in Ma On Shan in January this year was widely reported in local media to be a Filipina DH. She was not. Police said it was a local woman who was mentally ill.

But the story that caused the biggest stir was that of a woman who was found crumpled to death and bleeding on the third-floor patio of posh Robinson Place in Mid-Levels on Dec 13, 2019.

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For the whole day, a number of Filipina netizens went to the town with the story that the victim was a Filipina DH who had worked for an Indian employer in Tower 2 of the building.

Quoting other Filipinas who claimed to work in the same block, they vehemently denied that it was a suicide, and insisted the victim was cleaning windows when she fell to her death.

The netizens suddenly clammed up when police revealed that the suicide victim was a 66-year-old Chinese woman who jumped off a flat on a high floor of the residential block.

Those who are feeling depressed are advised to seek professional help immediately, either through the Philippine Consulate or NGOs like the Mission for Migrant Workers. They can also call the 24-hour multi-lingual hotline of the Samaritans at 28960000. 

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50k free air tickets, ‘cruise to nowhere’ offered to push vaccination

By The SUN

50K free air tickets will be raffled off to vaccinated residents

Get vaccinated, win one of free 50,000 air tickets on offer.

The Hong Kong Airport Authority made this pitch today to encourage the city’s residents to get vaccine jabs.

Cruise lines are also preparing to launch “cruises to nowhere” for Hong Kong residents by end-July at the earliest, with inoculation against Covid-19 a prerequisite for both passengers and crew before they could come aboard.

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Airport Authority chairman Jack So said the AA will raffle off 50,000 air tickets to vaccinated Hong Kong residents and 10,000 to airport employees.

He said the vaccination-tied ticket giveaway should give the aviation industry a needed shot in the arm, and encourage more people to take the jab.

“We hope that air traffic will resume as soon as possible. Vaccination of more people is an important part of the early recovery of the aviation industry,” he said.

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We have specifically allocated additional resources to encourage AA staff to vaccinate, hoping to take the lead,” So said.

He said to win one of the 50,000 air tickets on offer, a vaccinated Hong Kong resident must join the lucky draw by the end of September, when all 29 community vaccination centres are due to close.

The AA will also buy an additional 1,000 air tickets that it will give away in the form of a lottery to its employees who will have been vaccinated within the same period.

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But So did not specify the destinations of the free air tickets, or whether a resident could have just one of two vaccine doses to qualify for the lucky draw.

The AA said it is still finalizing details with the airlines.

Cruises to nowhere are expected to start by end of July

Meanwhile, Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development Edward Yau said yesterday that cruise lines may resume “cruises to nowhere” (CTN), on condition that they strictly comply with health precautionary measures designed for such a travel.

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Resuming the short sea journeys that do not stop at any foreign port is meant to pave the way for the gradual resumption of cruise travel which has been for more than 15 months, Yau said.

“CTN itineraries underpinned by health control safeguards will offer an additional safe vacation option for the community as from the coming summer,” he added.

However, a health expert has warned that such cruises could spread the virus as it would be difficult to detect any infections on board during the short journeys planned.

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Dr Leung Chi-chiu said the short cruises would only be truly safe if the city achieves a high vaccination rate.

If any passengers catch Covid-19 on the ships they could easily spread the virus within the community if not enough residents here are vaccinated, Leung said.

The health precautionary measures that have been worked out with relevant bureaus and departments, as well as the cruise trade, include:  

• All incoming crew members must comply with prevailing quarantine and testing requirements for travelers entering Hong Kong;
• All crew members must be fully inoculated with Covid-19 vaccines recognized by health authorities before the start of a cruise journey, except for those not suitable to do so with valid medical proof. Non-local crews who have not been vaccinated before coming here may get free jabs in Hong Kong. But they have to be fully vaccinated before they can serve on a cruise journey.
• All fully vaccinated crew members are still required to undergo a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) nucleic acid test shoreside and obtain a negative result every 14 days. Crew members who are not suitable for vaccination due to medical grounds must undergo a PCR nucleic acid test shoreside and obtain a negative result, as well as undergo every three days testing at on-board facilities and obtain a negative result;
• All passengers must be fully vaccinated, except for those not suitable to do so with medical proof or aged below 16, before a cruise journey begins;
• All passengers have to do a PCR nucleic acid test within 48 hours before boarding and obtain a negative result;
• Cruise lines are required to adopt a maximum 50% passenger capacity on a cruise ship, comply with the respective sets of hygiene, social distancing and contact tracing measures for various similar premises and facilities in force under the Prevention and Control of Disease Regulation (Cap. 599F), and promulgate contact tracing mechanism for journeys; and 
• Passengers are required to use the “LeaveHomeSafe” mobile application to scan the QR code of the cruise ship before boarding. After boarding, they must also follow the social distancing and contact tracing mechanism executed by the cruise lines.
  
  

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