HK records 17 imported cases of Covid-19, all but 2 seafarers

By The SUN 

The operator of the vessel is suspected of giving false information to HK health officials

Hong Kong health authorities reported 17 new Covid-19 infections today, Aug 27, all of them imported.

Fifteen of the patients are sea crew of a cargo vessel, Thor Monadic, that arrived in Hong Kong waters on Aug 24 from Indonesia. All tested positive for the L452R mutant strain of the coronavirus.

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Staff at the Health Department said they are still investigating if the seafarers had received Covid-19 vaccination.

According to a statement from the Centre for Health Protection, the stricken vessel had a total of 23 sea crew members, and no one had gone ashore after arriving in Hong Kong.

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One of the patients developed cough and symptoms on Aug 20, leading to the testing of everyone on board.

CHP said all of the patients will be sent to hospital for isolation and treatment while the remaining crew members will be quarantined on board the vessel, and tested in accordance with Hong Kong protocols.

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Meanwhile, the Health Department is seeking legal advice on whether the operator of the vessel should be prosecuted on suspicion of providing false information when applying for free “pratique”, or permission to have dealings with a port after showing a clean bill of health.

A search on google showed the bulk carrier Thor Monadic is registered in Singapore.

A woman who left HK on Aug 15 tested positive in UK 5 days later

Today's two other patients are both female travelers who tested positive for Covid-19 on their third day of hotel quarantine. Both are asymptomatic.

One of them, who is 43 years old and had come from Lithuania via Frankfurt on flight LH 796, also tested positive for the L452R mutant strain.

The other, who is 24 and had flown in from Azerbaijan via flight QR818 from Doha, had insufficient viral load so the result of a variant test was indeterminate.

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The new cases brought Hong Kong’s total coronavirus tally to 12,093.

Meanwhile, the CHP said it was notified of the case of a 59-year-old woman who left Hong Kong for London on Aug 15 and was found positive for Covid-19 from a sample she gave on Aug 20.

Her pre-departure test conducted in Hong Kong on Aug 13 was negative.

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According to the patient, she received two doses of the BioNTech vaccine in Hong Kong on Apr 12 and May 3.

The CHP said it is following up the case with the UK health authority.

In the meantime, the buildings where she had resided (Block A of Sunlight Court at 30 Bisney Road, Pok Fu Lam) and worked (28/F, C-Bons International Center, 108 Wai Yip Street, Kwun Tong) during the incubation period will be put under a compulsory testing notice.

Any person who had been present at the specified premises for more than two hours during the specified period has to undergo compulsory testing on or before the specified dates.

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Filipina DH distraught over job loss jailed 14 days for hitting male nurse

By Vir B. Lumicao 

The Filipina hit the male nurse after being taken to North Lantau Hospital

A terminated Filipina domestic worker who admitted assaulting a nurse in the hospital where she was taken after feeling unwell due to worries about her visa, was sentenced to 14 days in jail today, Aug. 27, by a West Kowloon magistrate.

C. Fronda, 52, admitted attacking the nurse on Aug 4 when she appeared before Magistrate Ivy Chui.

The prosecution said a distraught Fronda was taken to the accident and emergency department of North Lantau Hospital by ambulance around 6:30am on that day.

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Shortly before 10 am, she suddenly turned emotional and uncooperative while being examined by doctors. When she continued being aggressive, the doctors ordered her transferred to a bed with restraints.

Fronda resisted the transfer, and hit the left side of Mak Ko-wai’s head twice with her left fist as she tried to break free.

The 33-year-old nurse underwent a checkup after complaining of dizziness, headache and photophobia after the attack, but had no sign of external injury.

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At 10:30 am on the same day, a police investigator came, and after inspecting the scene of the incident, ordered the helper’s arrest.

Fronda remained in North Lantau Hospital until Aug 13, when she was transferred to Kwai Chung Hospital for further medical treatment.

A week later she was discharged and was escorted to the North Lantau Police Station where she was detained for a further seven days.

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The prosecution said that in a video interview on the evening of Aug 20, the defendant admitted the assault but said she had no intention of hurting anybody.

Fronda admitted the assault after being confined in hospital for 16 days

The next day she was taken to court before Magistrate Chui and informed about the charge against her.

Immigration records show Fronda’s contract was terminated prematurely by her employer on Jul 26, and she was given a visa extension.

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One of her friends who was in court said Fronda then moved in with her previous employer, who was a relative of the employer who fired her.

On the day of the incident, Fronda reportedly started feeling unwell due to her visa extension problem.

This prompted her former employer to call for medical help, but Fronda resisted being taken to hospital, insisting she was not mentally stressed.

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In mitigation, the defense lawyer told the court Fronda came to Hong Kong about 10 years ago to work as a domestic helper.

Her husband drives a tricycle to help support their two sons, aged 10 and 12, who are in grade school.

Before she was fired, Fronda was earning $4,630 a month, most of which she sent home.

The lawyer pointed out that his client had pleaded guilty and was very remorseful.

The magistrate said she took these into account in sentencing the defendant to 14 days in jail. 

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Call-up for HKID card replacements for those born in 1977 to 1979

By The SUN

New smart HKID card has more security features

The Immigration Department announced today, Aug 27, that Hong Kong residents born in 1977, 1978 or 1979 should apply for the new smart identity card in person, from Sept 20 to Nov 18, 2021.

The call-up covers all Hong Kong permanent residents and non-permanent residents taking up employment, investment, residence (including dependants), or study in Hong Kong.

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Those who qualify must bring along their old HK ID card at any Smart Identity Card Replacement Centre, which are open from 8am to 10pm from Monday to Saturday, except public holidays.

Eligible Hong Kong residents who are absent from Hong Kong during their call-up period can apply within 30 days upon their return to Hong Kong.

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Those who missed their call-up before should apply to get their new smart HKIDs at the Replacement Centres. “Flexible arrangement will be made according to the applicant's situation,” says an advisory on Immigration’s website.

Applicants are urged to book an appointment via HK Immigration’s mobile application, the internet  (www.gov.hk/newicbooking), or the 24-hour telephone booking hotline 2121 1234. 

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To download the mobile application or to make an appointment booking via the Internet, please scan the QR codes here: https://gia.info.gov.hk/general/202108/27/P2021082700296_375277_1_1630037549414.pdf

Immigration also appeals to applicants to pre-fill the application form when making booking an appointment through the mobile app or the internet to enjoy faster service.

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Under a caring arrangement for the replacement exercise, each eligible applicant may bring along up to two family members or friends aged 65 or above and two persons with disabilities to replace their identity cards together during the same visit to an SIDCC.

Smart ID card replacement is ongoing for children born in 2005 to 2007 (aged 14-17) or 2012 to 2018 (aged 3 to 9) and will end on Saturday, Sept 18.

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Those belonging to this age group who have not yet applied for a new smart identity card should do so as early as possible, in the company of a parent or legal guardian.

Kids aged 3-9 & 14-17 should be getting their HKID cards now

For details of the replacement arrangements for children holding the old form of smart identity card, please refer to this link: https://gia.info.gov.hk/general/202108/27/P2021082700296_375278_1_1630037549420.pdf

Please note that children born between 2012 and 2018 who have never held a permanent identity card in connection with their applications for a HK SAR passport, or are already holding a new smart identity card, are not required to get a replacement ID card.

For details of the Replacement Exercise, please visit the website www.smartid.gov.hk or call the ImmD's enquiry hotline at 2824 6111.

Applicants are urged to book an appointment via HK Immigration’s mobile application, the internet  (www.gov.hk/newicbooking), or the 24-hour telephone booking hotline 2121 1234. 

To download the mobile application or to make an appointment booking via the Internet, please scan the QR codes here: https://gia.info.gov.hk/general/202108/27/P2021082700296_375277_1_1630037549414.pdf

Immigration also appeals to applicants to pre-fill the application form when making booking an appointment through the mobile app or the internet to enjoy faster service.

Under a caring arrangement for the replacement exercise, each eligible applicant may bring along up to two family members or friends aged 65 or above and two persons with disabilities to replace their identity cards together during the same visit to an SIDCC.

Smart ID card replacement is ongoing for children born in 2005 to 2007 or 2012 to 2018 and will end on Saturday, Sept 18.

Those belonging to this age group who have not yet applied for a new smart identity card should do so as early as possible, in the company of a parent or legal guardian.

For details of the replacement arrangements for children holding the old form of smart identity card, please refer to this link: https://gia.info.gov.hk/general/202108/27/P2021082700296_375278_1_1630037549420.pdf

Please note that children born between 2012 and 2018 who have never held a permanent identity card in connection with their applications for a HK SAR passport, or are already holding a new smart identity card, are not required to get a replacement ID card.

For details of the Replacement Exercise, please visit the website www.smartid.gov.hk or call Immigration's enquiry hotline at 2824 6111.

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HK labour chief says employers not obliged to ensure FDHs’ jab records valid

By The SUN 

Law says employers will not be held liable if their FDH's vaccination record turns out to be fake (file)

Secretary for Labour and Welfare Law Chi-kwong has clarified that employers are under no legal obligation to ensure the validity of their incoming foreign domestic helper’s vaccination record.

Speaking to the press after attending a Legislative Council meeting this afternoon, Law said “employers do not have legal responsibilities to check the vaccination record.”

That duty, he said, belongs to those who will check the worker’s documents before being allowed to board their flights from their home countries, and those manning Hong Kong’s port of entry.

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“The duty does not rest on the employers but for sure if they really want to look at them themselves, they can do it but they have no legal responsibilities or liabilities to do so.” Law said.

He was responding to a question on whether employers will face legal liabilities if it turns out that the vaccination records of their hired worker turn out to be fake.

The question arose from a government advisory issued earlier in the day, which gave details of Hong Kong’s plan to allow vaccinated FDHs from the Philippines and Indonesia to start coming in from Monday, Aug 30.

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The advisory suggested that employers “confirm the authenticity of their FDHs’ vaccination records before booking tickets and rooms in the designated quarantine hotel.

If the FDH is found to have come to Hong Kong using a fake vaccination record, the worker will be sent to another quarantine facility, and no refund of fees will be allowed.

The government statement also warned that any person who knowingly or recklessly gives any false or misleading information may be prosecuted and fined up to $25,000 and imprisoned a maximum of six months – a statement obviously directed at the worker.

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In addition, the relevant consulates general will be informed, and the worker will be stopped from securing another employment visa in Hong Kong in future.

Workers found with fake vaccination records may be fined, jailed, & barred from working in HK

Law also forecast that there will be no large numbers of FDHs arriving within days because the quarantine facility designated for their use has only 409 rooms.

“So even if we do not stop the planes coming to Hong Kong they will not be able to board the plane because they will not be able to book a hotel,” he said.

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Based on recent figures, he also allayed fears that there will be a spike in the number of imported cases with the arrival of the FDHs, pointing out that the workers are required to be fully vaccinated and must test negative for Covid-19 within 72 hours before leaving for HK.

Law said the government is looking to secure another quarantine hotel for the incoming FDHs “and exploring other possibilities” to ensure their gradual entry to Hong Kong.

But this, he said, will depend on the progress of the scheme, the risks that might ensue, and the situation of the places where the FDHs will be coming from, noting in the process that “in the Philippines, the number of cases has been increasing very rapidly recently.”

“So we have to basically monitor the situation day after day,” he said.

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Nepali fined $1k for not registering birth of baby with Pinay wife

 By Vir B. Lumicao

A Shatin magistrate let off the couple with a suspended sentence for the overstay

A Nepalese man was fined $1,000 for failing to register the birth of his child with his Filipina wife, a former domestic worker who was also charged in court for overstaying her visa before her marriage.

On top of this, Bijaya Gurung, 36, and Jinelyn Goda, 34, were each meted 16 days in jail, suspended for a year, after they pleaded guilty to abetting the breach of immigration rules and to overstaying, respectively.

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The couple was accompanied to the court by the man’s sister who carried their daughter, who is now a year old.

Gurung’s lawyer said the Nepali, a Hong Kong resident who was a transport worker at the airport, took home his girlfriend, Goda, after she was fired from her job as a domestic helper.

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The two eventually got married but when their baby was born, Gurung failed to register the birth, apparently to shield his wife from arrest.

Goda was charged for failing to leave Hong Kong after her visa ran out in July 2020. She did not report to Immigration even after marrying Gurung.

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She was arrested on Mar 17 this year, while her husband was picked up shortly later.

The defense lawyer said Goda came to Hong Kong to work as a domestic helper in December 2018. She was dismissed after one year and seven months in her contract, when she was already heavily pregnant with her first child.'

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The woman is now pregnant with their second child and will be delivering the baby in October, the lawyer told the magistrate.

After imposing a fine on Gurung, Magistrate Wan told the couple he would suspending their sentence of 16 months in jail because of their guilty plea, on the condition that they don’t commit any new offense within the next year.

After the hearing, the couple said they were going to the Immigration to report about the outcome of their case. Gurung said he hopes to get his wife a Hong Kong ID card, as she is now holding a recognizance document which prevented her being deported.

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3 confirmed, 20 preliminary positive Covid-19 cases reported

By The SUN 

Qatar Airways flight from Doha is grounded again because of issues with 3 passengers

Three confirmed cases, and 20 preliminary positive cases of Covid-19, all of them imported, were recorded today, Aug 26, by the Centre for Health Protection.

The CHP report only mentions the confirmed cases, but staff said over the telephone that there were indeed, about 20 other newly arrived people who tested preliminary positive.

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But the staff could not give further details on the unusually high number of preliminary cases detected, including whether a big number of them had flown in together, or whether they involved a certain category of travelers.

CHP also announced that Qatar Airways flight QR818 from Doha will be suspended from flying to Hong Kong for two weeks starting tomorrow, Aug 27, because one of its passengers tested positive on arrival while two others failed to comply with pre-boarding requirements.

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The statement did not specify which regulations were violated by the two passengers that resulted in the flight’s suspension.

The three confirmed patients, meanwhile, flew in from different places, and were all fully vaccinated. They are also all asymptomatic, but carried the highly infectious L452R mutant strain of the coronavirus.

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Two of them, a 38-year-old man who came from Nepal, and a 47-year-old man from Greece, both tested positive for specimens taken during their arrival at Hong Kong airport on Aug 24.

Both received two doses of the BioNTech vaccine in Hong Kong between March and June this year. In addition, the patient from Greece tested positive for antibodies.

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The third patient, a 34-year-old man, flew in from Pakistan on Aug 21 and tested positive on his third day of quarantine at Dorsett Hotel in Tsuen Wan. He received the Sinovac vaccine in Hong Kong on Apr 10 and May 8.

Today’s cases took Hong Kong’s overall number of confirmed Covid-19 infections to 12,077.

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DFA reminds overseas Pinoys of Aug 31 deadline for moving OV records to Manila

By Vir B. Lumicao 

OVR applicants cause long queues to the Consulate on Sundays

This coming Tuesday, Aug 31, will be the last day to transfer back to the Philippines the  overseas voter records of Filipinos abroad, the Department of Foreign Affairs - Overseas Voting Secretariat has said in a press release.

The DFA-OVS issued the reminder as it encouraged all Filipinos abroad, including those in Hong Kong, to register as overseas voters on or before Sept 30 if they will remain overseas by May 9 next year.

Filipinos who find it difficult to travel to the Consulate to register or attend to voter record concerns may avail themselves of the virtual frontline services offered by the Comelec-Office for Overseas Voting, the DFA-OVS said. 

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The VFS pertains only to transactions where the applicant has existing voter registration records with complete biometric data such as: 

• Certification as an overseas voter (for those with existing voter records in the Philippines and are now applying to vote abroad);
• Reactivation of overseas voter registration records;
• Updating of addresses and contact information; and
• Transfer of voting records between different international locations and from overseas back to the Philippines.

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VFS applicants can fill up their application form, OVF-1, by using the i-Rehistro system on Comelec’s website https://irehistro.comelec.gov.ph/irehistro/ovf1 and submit the scanned copy of their duly accomplished OVF-1 to Comelec-OFOV, the DFA-OVS said. 

With just six weeks to go before the Sept 30 registration deadline, the Sunday crowd at the Consulate continues to swell.

Consulate staff struggle to cope each Sunday

Last Sunday, Aug 22, the PCG public hall was more crowded than usual, with hundreds of OV registrants, passport applicants and Filipinos with other transactions lined up for assistance throughout the day.

At noontime, about 80 people formed a serpentine queue in front of the OVR windows alone. About double that number lined up three abreast in the alleys on the second-floor lift lobby of the building, waiting for their turn to go up to the Consulate.

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Filipino community leader Marites Nuval said the big crowd started to form before the Consulate opened its gate at 8am to the registrants. Nuval estimated that by noon, she had sent up some 300 in batches of 10.

She said multitudes of registrants had descended on the Consulate since the last Sunday of July as voters tried to beat the registration deadline.

People who were at the front of the second-floor queue said they were there since 10am. Others who were about 10 meters down the line said they arrived around 11am. 

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The PCG has not released the cumulative number of people who have registered so far since the exercise began on Dec 6, 2019.

Consul General Raly Tejada had said previously about 200 people registered each Sunday for the past two months, but the number has noticeably gone up since.

Consul Bob Quintin, who is in charge of election affairs, had said previously the number of registrants for the 2022 national elections may fall short of the figure in the voter registration before the 2016 elections.

This is due to the impact of events in Hong Kong at the time the registration began and the coronavirus crisis that started in February 2020 and led to social distancing measures to avoid spreading the virus, he said.

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