2 more passengers of banned Turkish Air flight test positive for Covid-19

By The SUN

7 passengers from the Aug 27 Turkish Air flight from Istanbul have tested positive for Covid-19

Two more passengers of a Turkish Airlines flight that arrived in Hong Kong from Istanbul last Aug 27, Friday, have tested positive for Covid-19, raising the number of infections from the flight to seven.

The two, a 2-year-old girl who flew in from Turkey and a 39-year-old man who originated from Greece before taking flight TK083 from Istanbul, were the only confirmed cases today, Aug 31.

The flight was suspended for two weeks starting on Sunday, when three of its passengers were confirmed as Covid positive.

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According to staff at the Health Department, the girl was tested positive at a quarantine centre where she was moved after four of her relatives who were with her on the flight, were confirmed to have the coronavirus earlier.

Two of the relatives, both women, were among the three passengers who tested positive on arrival test at Hong Kong airport. The two others, a man and a boy, were confirmed as Covid positive yesterday.

Staff say the result from a variant test carried out on the girls’ specimen is still pending.

 

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The man from Greece is the seventh passenger of the Istanbul flight to have tested positive for Covid-19. He was also found to carry the L452R mutant strain of the coronavirus.

The man tested positive on his Day 3 sample while in quarantine at Ramada Grand View Hotel in North Point.

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He received two jabs of the BioNTech vaccine in Hong Kong, on Mar 23 and Apr 13, before leaving for abroad. He also tested positive for antibodies in a test conducted in HK on Jul 13.

The two cases raised Hong Kong’s confirmed Covid-19 infections to 12,113.

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A total of 74 cases have been reported in the past 14 days (Aug 17 to 30) including a local case with unknown source, while the rest are imported cases.

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FDHs from Philippines,Indonesia will be allowed to quarantine at Penny’s Bay

By The SUN 

FDHs who will quarantine at Penny's Bay will be charged around $500 per day

Chief Executive Carrie Lam says foreign domestic helpers arriving from the Philippines and Indonesia from next month will be allowed to spend their 21-day quarantine at Penny’s Bay camp.

Speaking to reporters ahead of the Executive Council meeting, the CE Lam said that since there are no new local Covid-19 cases, the government-run quarantine facility can be used by the helpers who were vaccinated in their home countries.

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But the accommodation will not be free. Lam said the 800 rooms at the camp will be available for use by the helpers at a cost of probably no more than $500 per room, with full meals.

But she said the charge will just cover the cost of running the facility.

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"It is a cost-recovery charge, preliminary calculation is no more than 500 dollars. If it is lower than 500, of course we will charge the lower level because we only aim to recover costs," Lam has been quoted as saying.

The accommodation will include full meals for 21 days

She said the government will continue to run the facility itself, even the taking of bookings from the helpers who would be checking in there in three weeks’ time.

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"There is an abundance of work to be done, because we have to come up with a computer booking system. We will make use of the Civil Aid Service and other departments."

At present, Penny’s Bay is used to shelter close contacts of infected patients until they either test positive or finish their designated quarantine period.

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FDHs who hold recognized vaccination records, on the other hand, are presently accommodated only at Silka Tsuen Wan hotel, which is said to be fully booked until early November.

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HK allows residents vaccinated in PH, Indonesia to enter from Sept 1

By Daisy CL Mandap

 

Residents vaccinated in the Philippines and Indonesia can come in from Wednesday

Hong Kong will extend its recognition of vaccination records issued in the Philippines and Indonesia to all its residents stranded in both countries designated as high risk, starting on Sept 1.

This was announced by the government in an advisory issued late on Monday night.

The vaccination recognition was previously given only to foreign domestic helpers from the two places with valid employment visas in Hong Kong, starting Monday, Aug 30.

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But unlike the FDHs who must spend their 21-day quarantine only at Silka Tsuen Wan hotel, returning residents (including dependants, students and other employment visa holders) could isolate at any of the designated quarantine hotels.

"Foreign domestic helpers holding vaccination records that have been affirmed by the relevant authorities of Indonesia or the Philippines must follow the quarantine arrangements as announced by the Government on August 26, including undergoing 21-day compulsory quarantine in a designated quarantine facility,” said the government statement.

“As for other Hong Kong residents, they can undergo compulsory quarantine in regular designated quarantine hotels.”

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The announcement followed a request personally made on behalf of the residents by Consul General Raly Tejada to Chief Secretary Carrie Lam, during her meeting with the top diplomats of ASEAN countries last Friday.

“Nakinig naman po (siya),” (She listened) said ConGen Tejada at the time.

Before this, dozens of residents who have been stranded in the Philippines for months because of a flight ban imposed by Hong Kong on Apr 20 had besieged the Consulate with pleas for help, with many saying they needed to come back to see family members or take up jobs.

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At least two parents worried about how their children who hold student visas in Hong Kong have also reached out, saying their kids needed to leave already so they could be in school on time, after spending 21 days in quarantine.

The failure to refer to all Hong Kong visa holders who bear the same vaccination record issued by the Bureau of Quarantine in the Philippines came as a surprise to many residents, as they had previously received priority for re-entry, given their family and work ties in the city.

Residents seem to have been overlooked in the vaccination recognition deal

Hong  Kong first opened its doors to residents and migrant workers in so-called high-risk countries who had their vaccination in the city, who were allowed to start coming in on Aug 9.

Those who received their jabs elsewhere must carry a vaccination record issued by a country with a “stringent regulatory authority” as designated by the World Health Authority, or with an agreement with Hong Kong on a mutual recognition of vaccination records.

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The vaccination records issued by the Philippines and Indonesia fell into the last category, paving the way for FDHs, and now residents and other visa holders, to enter Hong Kong.

Also to be recognized starting Sept 1 are the Digital Covid Certificates issued by the European Union, according to the government statement.

These are the ones issued by authorities in North Macedonia, San Marino, Turkey, Ukraine and Vatican City.

All other EU countries in the high risk category, as well as the United States, Australia and Japan, had automatically qualified for vaccination recognition, as their issuing authorities had WHO recognition.

The link for the complete list of countries with recognized vaccination records is here: https://gia.info.gov.hk/general/202108/30/P2021083000672_375467_1_1630325183981.pdf 

The government statement reminded all residents in the high-risk Group A specified places that they will be allowed to board a flight for Hong Kong if they have been fully vaccinated, hold a recognized vaccination record and fulfill other boarding requirements.

They will also be subject to the following quarantine requirements:

(1) Must undergo compulsory quarantine for 21 days in a designated quarantine hotel;

(2) Undergo 6 tests during compulsory quarantine;

(3) Self-monitor for the next 7 days; and

(4) Undergo another test on the 26^th day from arrival in any community testing centre

The statement said Hong Kong is still negotiating with other high-risk countries whose vaccination records have yet to be recognized.

These include India, Pakistan, Nepal, Thailand, Cambodia, Bangladesh, Brazil, Sri Lanka, Iran, South Africa, Tanzania and Russia.

The boarding and quarantine requirements for all travelers to Hong Kong can be found here: www.coronavirus.gov.hk.

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DH bears appendicitis pain for fear of losing job

By Vir B. Lumicao 

Tumanguil put her life at risk by trying to bear the pain from an acute appendicitis

A Filipina domestic helper who tried to hide the intense pain she was experiencing for fear of losing her job is now recovering at home after undergoing surgery for acute appendicitis.

Leilani T. Tumanguil, 33, said she had foolishly endured her pain in silence, thinking she would be fired if she told her employers about her ailment. She was to learn later that she could have died if she hesitated some more.

When the pain became unbearable on the night of Aug 12, Tumanguil still hesitated, thinking that the pain would still go away. But the next morning, she was forced to tell her employers as she could hardly walk and the pain had become unbearable.

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"Pagbangon ko… umakyat ako sa itaas, pero di ako makalakad, pinipilit ko lang dahil madami pa akong work. Nang di na tumigil ang sakit ng tiyan ko, umiyak na ako kasi di ko na kaya,” Tumanguil said.

(When I got up…I went upstairs but I could hardly walk. I just forced myself because I still had lots of work to do, but when the pain won’t go away, I cried and had to tell my employer.)

To her relief, her 38-year-old female employer immediately gave her money and told her to take a taxi and rush to the hospital.

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At Alice Ho Miu Ling Nethersole Hospital in Tai Po, the doctor who examined her said she needed urgent surgery. Her fear of what could happen to her employment again gripped her, but she sent a message to her employer about the doctor’s suggestion.

“Okay, get the surgery done now,” the employer replied.

She was transferred to the North District Hospital in Sheung Shui the next day. There her doctor told her she had an acute appendicitis that should be removed immediately or it could rupture and spread infection throughout her body, potentially endangering her life.

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The surgery took place at 2am on Aug 14 and it was successful. Tumanguil said she just had to go without solid food for seven days, and had to be fed intravenously with dextrose.

Still burdened by worries about the future and her three young children, she asked her sister in Manila to contact her employer, and find out how her employment situation looked like.

But after Tumanguil’s sister sent a text message, the employer gave assurance that she will retain the helper and let her recover at home until she can resume working.

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“The doctor called me and told me Lani’s condition is good, but due to Covid-19 they don’t allow us to visit her… Also, there’s no need to worry about the money, we bought insurance for Lani; if it’s not enough, we will pay the final bit, it’s okay,” she wrote.

“Once she’s out of the hospital, she can rest in the house until she’s healthy and ready to work. We will take good care of her.”

Tumanguil was profuse with thanks when her sister forwarded the employer’s message to her. After 14 days in the hospital, she was fetched by her employer on Aug 26.

The Filipina is grateful to her employers for taking care of her after the surgery

In her employer’s home, it is they who take care of her and bring her food in her room as they nurse her to full recovery. She says she feels embarrassed because this is her first time to be served by the people she should be serving.

“Sana bumalik na ang lakas ko para makabawi ako sa kanila,” Tumanguil said. (I hope I can recover my strength so that I can repay their kindness.)

The grateful worker said she will be marking her second year with her employers on Sept 29. She worried about being terminated because her employers have been good to her even if she had broken many items in the past.

Tumanguil said both her employers and their two sons, aged 8 and 19, have been nothing but kind to her. Her female employer is from Hong Kong and her husband is from the Mainland. They are her second employers here.

She said she worked only for a year and five months for her first employer then went home. Before Hong Kong, she worked for three years in Kuwait.

Tumanguil’s advice to her fellow workers is to seek help immediately if they are feeling unwell. Putting your life at risk is just not worth trying to save your job for. 

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PH posts all-time daily high of 22,366 new Covid-19 cases

By The SUN 

The stark figures from DOH (graphics from Inquirer)

The Philippines has recorded 22,366 new Covid-19 infections, the highest ever daily tally since the coronavirus outbreak in the country began in January 2020.

The Department of Health has warned it expects even higher daily tally in the coming days.

The country now has 148,594 active cases, or 7.5% of the total confirmed cases of 1,976,202 as of today, Aug 30. Two laboratories did not submit results on time.

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“Sa mga susunod na araw ay maari pang tumaas ang ating mga kaso ng Covid-19,” the DOH said in its daily bulletin, but did not elaborate. (In the next few days, our Covid-19 cases may continue to rise).

The continuing surge in cases is being linked to the spread of coronavirus variants, notably the Delta variant, which was found to have accounted for more than 500 infections in the latest genomic testing results released by DOH.

The Department’s posted figures show that today’s recovered patients numbered 16,864, raising the total number to 1,794,278 (or 90.8%) while 222 passed away, pushing up the death toll to 33,330.

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Of the active cases, the DOH said 95.7 percent were mild cases, 1.7 percent were asymptomatic, 1.1 percent were severe, 0.97 percent were moderate, and 0.6 percent were critical.

The positivity rate, or the percentage of people who tested positive was 27.5% of a total of 65,237 tests conducted. The figure is way past the critical level of 20% set by many experts, including those from the World Health Organization.

VP Robredo calls for more testing, saying the infection figure could be much higher

The record-high figures prompted Vice President Leni Robredo to call anew for more mass testing, saying the number of those infected should be far more, given the high positivity rate.

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“Kahit para na tayong sirang plaka, uulitin pa din natin – we are simply not testing enough. Gustong sabihin, ang daming gumagala na Covid positives na hindi nga nila alam na infected na pala sila. Pag hindi nila alam, lalong dadami lang ang mahahawaan nila,” Robredo said.

(At the risk of sounding like a broken record, we should say again – we are simply not testing enough. This means, there are so many Covid positives roaming around who do not even know that they have been infected. If they don’t know, they would be infecting a lot more people).

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Meanwhile, the DOH said the utilization rate of hospital beds in intensive care units remains at a critical 74%, while 65% of isolation beds and 70 %  of ward beds across the country were in use.

In Metro Manila, the utilization rate was 72 percent of ICU beds, 64 percent of isolation beds, and 72 percent of ward beds, while 59 percent of available ventilators were in use.

Health authorities have earlier said they are looking into setting up tents and modular hospitals in critical areas to meet patients’ need.

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3 new imported infections today, 2 of them from banned Turkish flight

By The SUN 

There are now 5 confirmed cases from the Turkish Air flight that arrived in HK on Friday

Two more passengers of the Turkish Airlines flight suspended yesterday were confirmed to have Covid-19 today, Aug 30.

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The 27-year-old man and a 3-year-old boy were found infected at a quarantine centre after their two female relatives tested positive at the airport after arriving in Hong Kong from Istanbul on Friday.

Turkish Air flight TK 083 was suspended for two weeks starting yesterday after three of its passengers, including the two women, tested positive on their arrival in Hong Kong.

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Separately, Philippines Airlines flight PR 200 from Manila was also banned from flying to Hong Kong for the same period after three of its passengers were also found infected on arrival test.

The man from Turkey received two doses of the BioNTech vaccine in the United Kingdom on Jun 27 and Jul 22, at the same time as their female relatives, aged 22 and 66.

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Both he and the boy are asymptomatic.

Their test results for the mutant strain of the coronavirus are still pending.

The third patient today is a 24-year-old man who flew in from Egypt on Thursday, and was found to carry the more infectious L452R strain of the coronavirus while in quarantine at Ramada Grand hotel in Tsim Sha Tsui.

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The man had two jabs of the Sinovac vaccine in Hong Kong on Mar 18 and Apr 15.

Today’s confirmed cases raised Hong Kong’s total Covid-19 tally to 12,111.

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No more quarantine places for incoming FDHs from Manila and Jakarta

By Daisy CL Mandap 

Silka Tsuen Wan has no more places until Nov 1

It looks like Hong Kong’s recognition of their vaccines is not the biggest hurdle facing thousands of stranded foreign domestic helpers in the Philippines and Indonesia, but the lack of quarantine space for them in the city.

Silka Tsuen Wan hotel, the only quarantine hotel designated by the Hong Kong government for use by the incoming FDHs, is said to be fully booked until Nov. 1.

Only about 280 of the more than 400 rooms in the hotel have been allocated for the helpers’ use, in line with Hong Kong’s quarantine regulations that limit hotel occupancy rate to around 70%.

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This means it will take months before the estimated 3,000 stranded workers in the Philippines alone could enter Hong Kong, which allowed FDHs who were fully vaccinated in their home countries to start coming in from today, Aug 30.

The Silka rooms were reportedly snapped up just one or two days after they were made available, despite the unexplained jacking up of the hotel’s daily rate, which left many employers complaining.

In a government press release issued last Thursday, the daily rate given for the 3-star hotel was $800, which was nearly double its usual charge. In fact, a search of two other hotels in the Silka chain listed a daily rate of just $490 for the 21-day quarantine.

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Earlier this year, the rate charged to travelers who used the same hotel for the previous 14-day quarantine for travellers from the Philippines was just $364, with a $800 discount to employment agency bookings.

Silka Seaview Hotel in Yau Ma Tei still lists its daily rate as $490 for 21-day quarantine

But the price is not the main consideration now, said employment agency operator Thomas Chan, but the difficulty of obtaining a room in Silka Tsuen Wan.

“Room reservation system (in Silka) is a mystery. We send email there and wait for their reply. No phone call is accepted. When we send emails, we don’t know if the room is available or now, which is totally different from the normal practice,” said Chan.

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The head of the Hong Kong Union of Employment Agencies said this kind of a system could result in reservation staff at the hotel to favor friends, or those who give them favors.

Chan suggested a points system to be adopted for the FDHs who are waiting in line to come in. Those who have been waiting for a long time, or are needed to look after the elderly or babies, should be given priority.

The compulsory quarantine in Silka Tsuen Wan for all FDHs who were vaccinated in their home countries is giving additional distress to some, especially those who could quarantine in other designated hotels which are better priced and are more accessible.

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One of them is Gina O. who had already been booked in a hotel where the room measures 200 sq ft., which is twice as big as the ones in Silka, and costs much less, at $600 a night.

Gina was distraught to learn that even after working in Hong Kong for more than 20 years she is still forced to stay in Silka just because she failed to get vaccinated here before she went home for a vacation.

She felt more aggrieved by the feeling that FDHs like her are being discriminated against because they are being separated from the rest of people arriving in Hong Kong.

“Why are they segregating us from all other arrivals from abroad?” she asked.

Despite booking with Silka as soon as she heard the news that she did not have any choice but to stay there so she could come back to Hong Kong, Gina said she had yet to receive a confirmation from the hotel.

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