Total lockdown not ruled out as Covid-19 cases surge to 1,514

By Daisy CL Mandap

Health officials a citywide lockdown may be considered if the cases continue to mount (File)

Health authorities say further tightening or measures to curb the spread of the coronavirus may be considered if the surge in cases continues unabated.

Dr Edwin Tsui, controller of the Centre for Health Protection, made the statement at today’s press briefing, during which another record-high 1,514 new cases were reported.

Asked what could trigger a citywide lockdown, Dr Tsui said there is no specific number of cases that would prompt the government to take this extreme measure. He said the government will actively review the situation and implement corresponding measures.

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“We are stepping up measures gradually,” he said.

Other moves may also be considered, like locking down a bigger area in each particular district instead of just targeting one residential block, like what happened in Kwai Chung Estate earlier this month.

Another option is to extend the vaccine pass to public transportation, a measure that the government has already submitted to the Executive Council for approval.

Tsui also said that because testing centers are currently overwhelmed, the government has adjusted the criteria for issuing mandatory testing. Residents of a housing block will only be tested now if there were at least two units with two confirmed cases found in the building.

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Previously, a single confirmed case could trigger mandatory testing for the entire building where the patient lives.

At the same time, the Hospital Authority will further relax the discharge criteria for Covid-19 patients currently in hospital.

According to HA’s Dr Larry Lee, a patient may now be eligible for discharge if (1) the Ct value in two specimens submitted is 30 or more, (2) the patient tests positive for antibody and returned a negative test result; or (3) has a negative test result and the Ct value of the sample is at least 30.

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Dr Lee said a study at City University showed that if the Ct value is 30 or more, the virus could no longer be “cultured”, indicating the patient is no longer infectious.

Tsui says the WHO has told doctors not to treat Covid-19 as just another type of flu

Asked if the government should just relax measures instead and treat Covid-19 as just a form of flu, Dr Hui said this was against the advice by the World Health Organization.

He said the WHO has cautioned doctors against this because the coronavirus keeps mutating, and whatever new form it takes could again present danger to humans.

“So let’s listen to what the WHO is saying,” he said. “We should not underestimate Covid-19.”

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Dr Tsui said the government is looking at getting help from mainland authority to help boost the city’s testing capacity to around 200,000 per day, and provide more community isolation facilities for patients with mild or no symptoms.

He also said that due to the increasing number of cases, patients who test positive may need to wait a few hours before being sent to the hospital.

If someone is isolating at home, he said everyone in the household must wear masks. They should carefully disinfect their home, and must always store bleach and other disinfecting solutions for this purpose.

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As much as possible, the person isolating should remain inside a room and avoid any contact with other members of the household. If a separate room cannot be provided, the person should be moved to a quarantine hotel.

At the moment, Tsui said 2,300 people are spending quarantine in eight designated hotels.

Meanwhile, 2,000 units in three phases of Penny’s Bay will soon be vacated to provide room for patients with mild or no symptoms.

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This is expected to release pressure on three treatment centres and 14 public hospitals currently catering to some 2,000 Covid-19 patients, and open up space for those who have tested positive and told to remain at home for the meantime.

Dr Chuang Shuk-kwan of the Centre for Health Protection said that of today’s confirmed cases, five are imported, and the rest were all locally acquired.

Seventeen had the mutant strain of the Delta variant while the remaining 1,497 are likely Omicron carriers.

She also mentioned that at least seven more elderly homes have been hit with a coronavirus outbreak. In one care home on Boundary Street in Kowloon, 17 residents and six workers have tested preliminary positive.

Dr Lee also reported more medical staff in various hospitals testing positive for Covid-19. He said about 50 staff have tested preliminary positive, with about 20 others, along with 60 patients, being classified as close contacts.

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4-year-old boy among 3 Covid-19 deaths today

By The SUN 

The boy had fever, then vomited, before he was rushed to Pok Oi Hospital where he died

A four-year-old boy who died at Pok Oi Hospital in Yuen Long early this morning was among three Covid-19 fatalities reported today, Feb. 12. The others are both elderly male patients who died days after being admitted to hospital.

Dr. Larry Lee of the Hospital Authority said at today’s press briefing that the boy who did not have any known illness, had fever on Feb. 9. He was taken to the hospital at 1:30pm on Friday, and vomited once, before his condition deteriorated.

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He passed away at 4:16am today, and subsequent tests showed he had the coronavirus. The actual cause of death is being investigated.

Some media reports say the boy’s family, including a five-year-old sister, have also tested positive for Covid-19.

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Another fatality is a 75-year-old man who passed away at Tuen Mun Hospital at 1:51pm yesterday. He was admitted on Feb 4 and was found positive for Covid-19 on Feb 9.

The third death involved a 98-year-old man who tested positive after being taken to Queen Mary Hospital on Feb 9. He passed away at 7:59 am today.

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Dr Lee said, “We are concerned about the children and the elderly because most of them are not vaccinated so they are more vulnerable.”

He said the boy’s case has been referred to the coroner’s court for further investigation into the cause of death.

Today's fatalities took the total death toll from Covid-19 to 221.

Meanwhile, three other patients are in critical condition. Two are unvaccinated while the third had two doses.

A record-high 16 patients are in serious condition in various government-run infection control centres and 14 public hospitals.

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FDH pinaalalahanan: Bantay laban sa pagtitipon-tipon magiging mas istrikto

Mas mahigpit daw ang gagawing pagbabantay sa mga puntahan ng FDH sa kanilang day-off.

Nagpaalalang muli ang gobyerno ng Hong Kong sa mga foreign domestc helper (FDH) na istriktong sumunod sa mga patakaran para maiwasang mahawa sa Covid-19 sa araw ng kanilang day-off, o masita at utusang magmulta ng mga nagbabantay.

Ito ang mga dapat tandaan:

• Kailangang naka-suot ng facemask sa lahat ng pagkakataong nasa publikong lugar.

• Dalawa na lang ang pwedeng magkumpol sa mga pampublikong lugar, na ibinaba mula apat.

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• Mga miyembro lang ng dalawang kabahayan o pamilya ang maaring magsama sa iisang lugar

• Ipinagbabawal na rin ang pagtitipon sa mga simbahan 

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Ayon sa Labour Department, kabilang sa mga magpapatupad ng bagong regulasyon ang mga tauhan ng Hong Kong Police Force, Food and Environmental Hygiene Department, Home Affairs Department at Leisure and Cultural Services Department. 

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Sila ay maglilibot sa may dalang sound system upang mag-broadcast ng mga paalala sa mga nakasanayan nang puntahan ng mga FDH, gaya ng Central, Tamar Park sa Admiralty, Victoria Park sa Causeway Bay, Tsuen Wan Park, ang footbridge malapit sa Fa Yuen Street sa Mong Kok at iba pa.

Mayroon silang mga kasama na may kapagyarihang manghuli ng mga lumalaban sa patakaran. Inaasahang masita, o parusahan ng multang $5,000, ang mga lumalabag sa patakaran.

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Sa isang press statement, sinabi ng Labour: "We remind FDHs to strictly observe the requirements and appeal to them to avoid gatherings (including those in boarding facilities), food sharing and other social activities on their rest days and holidays, and stay at home for rest as far as possible in order to safeguard their personal health and reduce the risk of infection. We also appeal to employers to explain the current special circumstances when discussing rest day arrangements with their FDHs and call for their mutual understanding."

Nilinaw din ng Labour na ayon sa Employment Ordinance, pwedeng magkasundo ang DH at employer na gawin ang dayoff sa ibang araw, basta ito ay nasa loob ng susunod na 30 araw. 

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Bawal rin pagtrabahuin ang isang DH sa araw ng pahinga nito.

Ang isang employer na nagpapatrabaho ng kanyang kasambahay sa araw ng pahinga na walang pahintulot nito, ay lumalabag sa Employment Ordinance at pwedeng ireklamo sa salang may parusang aabot sa $50,000, dagdag pa ng Labour. 

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Ipinaalala rin ng Labour sa mga FDH na hindi pa bakunado na may karapatan sila sa libreng bakuna upang maprotektahan nila hindi lang ang sarili kundi ang iba pa sa kanilang kabahayan. Pwedeng magpa-schedule sa COVID-19 Vaccination Programme website (www.covidvaccine.gov.hk). 

Ang mga may tanong ay pwedeng tumawag sa FDH hotine sa 2157 9537, o magpadala ng email sa fdh-enquiry@labour.gov.hk o sa portal na itinayo para sa mga FDH (www.fdh.labour.gov.hk).

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Flight ban on PH, 7 other countries extended to Mar 4; Nepal added to list

By The SUN 

Passengers from the Philippines will have to wait 2 more weeks at the earliest to get to HK

The Hong Kong government has announced that the ban on passenger flights from eight countries including the Philippines will be extended for 14 days to Mar 4. The ban was supposed to have been extended only until Feb 18.

The other countries covered by the flight ban which was first imposed on Jan 8 are Australia, Canada, France, India, Pakistan, the United Kingdom and the United States of America.

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From tomorrow, the ban will also cover Nepal. A flight on Jan 25 from Kathmandu arrived with 36 passengers testing positive at Hong Kong International Airport. The number of infections from the flight reached no less than 80, when other passengers tested positive while in quarantine.

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The decision to extend the ban came as Hong Kong reported another record-high 1,325 cases, with a further 1,500 people testing preliminary positive. Hospitals are nearing full-capacity, with some confirmed patients being told to remain at home and wait to be admitted.

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“Noting that the local epidemic situation remains severe, and there has all along been many Hong Kong residents returning from these eight places, in order to prevent imported cases from posing additional pressure on the healthcare system at this crucial juncture of curbing the local epidemic situation, the Government will extend the place-specific flight suspension mechanism for two weeks,” said the government announcement.

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“From Feb 19 to Mar 4, all passenger flights from these eight places will be prohibited from landing in Hong Kong, and at the same time, persons who have stayed in these places for more than two hours within 14 days will be restricted from boarding passenger flights for Hong Kong, so as to stop persons from the relevant places from traveling to Hong Kong via transit.

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The statement said the government will review “in due course” whether the place-specific flight ban should be lifted, taking into account the latest global and local epidemic situations.

"We understand that the place-specific flight suspension mechanism is an extremely stringent emergency measure, and will inevitably affect the return journeys of Hong Kong residents from these nine places," said the statement. 

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"However, we must maintain the relevant measure so as to quickly quell the epidemic situation, in order to prevent imported cases from posing additional pressure on the medical system."

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HK’s posts new record-high 1,325 Covid-19 cases & 2 deaths

By The SUN 

Long queues for compulsory testing in Shatin, one of the districts with a high rate of infections

Hong Kong health officials have announced that 1,325 new Covid-19 infections were recorded as of midnight last night, with 1,500 more still to be confirmed.

Speaking at today’s press conference, Dr Chuang Shuk-kwan said that “obviously, the number has not peaked yet.”

Of today’s confirmed cases, only two are imported, and the rest were all acquired locally. Most of these cases were detected in high-risk areas like Sham Shui Po, Kwai Chung, Shatin and Tuen Mun.

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Excluding today’s tally, Chuang said there have been 5,535 cases confirmed since Dec 31, when the highly infectious Omicron variant was first detected in the city.

The death toll continues to climb as well, with two new fatalities being reported. One was an 86-year-old man who passed away at Caritas Medical Centre, while the other was an 88-year-old woman who succumbed at past 2pm today Queen Elizabeth Hospital.

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Two unvaccinated elderly male patients, aged 84 and 97, are in critical condition.

Eleven other patients are in serious condition, six females and five males. Dr Lee said over half of them are not vaccinated.

Dr Chuang said more outbreaks have occurred at elderly homes, prompting the evacuation of a number of residents. Previously, she said at least 20 elderly homes have reported outbreaks among both staff and residents.

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The infectious disease expert said the new cases are still linked to large gatherings held over the Lunar New Year holidays.

Asked if the government’s anti-epidemic measures were enough to “flatten the curve” of infections, Dr Chuang said, “We simply can’t rely on contact tracing alone because the base is huge.”

She added, “If we don’t go out I am sure we can flatten the curve.”

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“As you can see there are a lot of infections still going on in the community.”

Dr Lee also sounded off an alarm over hospital space being stretched to capacity. He said more than 85% of 1^st tier and 2^nd tier beds are already occupied, so the HA is speeding up the transfer of patients with slight or no symptoms to the isolation facility at Penny’s Bay.

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He acknowledged reports some patients have had to wait for days at home after being confirmed, but said staff have been doing their best to cope with the surge in cases.

Making the situation worse is the rising number of hospital staff testing positive for Covid-19. Dr Lee said the latest outbreaks were detected at the obstetrics ward of Tuen Mun Hospital and the general medical ward at Shatin Hospital.

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More than 40 medical staff of the HA have been infected so far, including doctors, nurses and support staff, he said.

To prevent further outbreaks, he said all clinical staff will be asked to do rapid tests. Those with symptoms, even if mild, should stop going to work.

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Pinoy DH ikinulong ng 2 buwan dahil sa ilegal na trabaho

Nahatulan ng pagkabilanggo ang isang Pinoy DH dahil sa ilegal na trabaho.

Isang Pilipino ang ipinakulong ng dalawang buwan kanina matapos umaming ilegal na nagtrabaho sa tindahan ng kanyang amo, samantalang  domestic helper ang visa niya.

Napaluha si R.C. Roberto nang ilayo ng mga pulis mula sa harap ng hukom sa Shatin Magistracy pagkatapos niyang masentensiyahan ng "breach of condition of stay," at dalhin sa isang kuwarto para hintayin ang paglipat sa kanya sa kulungan.

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Kasabay niyang humarap sa kaparehong akusasyon ang isa pang domestic helper, si L. Ladrillo, na humingi ng palugit hanggang Mar 11 para harapin ang kanyang kaso, na sinang-ayunan naman ni Acting Principal Magistrate David Cheung Chi-way.

Ayon sa sakdal na binasa sa kanya at isinalin sa Tagalog ng interpreter,  hinuli si Roberto noong Mar. 6, 2021 nang mag-imbestiga ang mga pulis sa isang tindahan ng marine products ng kanyang amo sa Sai Ying Pun.

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Nagpunta ang mga imbestigador sa umaga at hapon, at sa parehong pagkakataon, nakita siyang may suot na asul na t-shirt na may marka ng kumpanya at nagsisilbi sa mga parokyano.

Ayon sa isang testigo ng taga-usig, si Roberto ay nagtatrabaho sa lugar na ito mula ika-9 ng umaga hanggang ika-8 ng gabi.

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Nang tanungin siya kung tinatanggap niya ang salaysay, sumagot si Roberto ng oo.

Humingi ng pang-unawa kay Magistrate Cheung ang abugado ni Roberto, na nagsabing may malinis na record ang akusado simula nang dumating ito sa Hong Kong noong November 2018.

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Sinabi niya na ang employer ni Roberto ay may kapansanan, kaya kailangan na laging may naka-alalay hanggang sa lugar ng kanyang negosyo. Nagsabi rin ang amo na kukunin pa rin niya si Roberto kung papayagan itong magtrabahong muli sa Hong Kong.

Ayon din sa abugado, si Roberto ay tumutulong sa tindahan dahil napakiusapan lang ng mga empleyado nito.

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Hindi siya binabayaran nang dagdag sa ginagawa sa tindahan ng amo. At sa sahod niyang $5,000, $3,500 ang ipinadadala niya sa pamilya sa Pilipinas.

Ayon kay Magistrate Cheung, isinaalang-alang niya ang malinis na rekord ni Roberto, ang kanyang pag-amin, at ang paliwanag kung bakit kailangan siyang kasama ng among may kapansanan kahit sa trabaho nito.

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Ang nararapat na parusa kay Roberto aniya, ay tatlong buwang pagkabilanggo. Binigyan niya ito ng 1/3 na discount dahil sa pag-amin kaya naging dalawang buwan ang sentensiya.

Ayon sa Immigration Ordinance ng Hong Kong, ang parusa sa paglabag sa condition of stay ay multang hanggang $50,000 at pagkakakulong na hanggang dalawang taon. -- LD

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