HK posts all-time high 26,026 new Covid-19 cases, 110 more deaths

By The SUN

 

The Omicron variant has been fuelling the massive surge in cases in the fifth wave

Hong Kong has experienced its worst day so far in the pandemic, with 26,026 new Covid-19 cases and 110 additional deaths reported, mostly elderly people in care homes.

Speaking at today’s press conference, Dr Albert Au of the Centre for Health Protection said the spiraling number of infection was worrying, given how the daily tally has mounted in just a short period of time.

He noted that from an average of around 10,000 in recent days, the daily figure has doubled, overwhelming the public health system.

But the spike in the daily reportable cases was also driven largely by a new policy allowing positive cases from private laboratories being directly added to the tally, instead of having to pass through a government laboratory first for confirmation.

Dr Au said 18,424 of the cases were reported by private outsourced laboratories, while the rest came from the Hospital Authority and CHP.

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He also admitted on questioning by a reporter that all three mortuaries in the city are 90% full as more deaths from other causes are also being reported because of the cold weather.

Dr Lau Ka-hin from the Hospital Authority said that in the past 24 hours, a total of 83 patients -53 males and 30 females - had passed away, aged 19-100 years old.

An additional 27 patients, aged 68 to 104, died between Feb 23 to 25, and because of the backlog, their cases were not reported on time.

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Of the latest batch of fatalities, 77 or 92% of the patients, were aged 65 years old and above. Most, or 67 of them, lived in the elderly homes.

One of them had three shots of a vaccine, five had two doses, while seven had a single jab each. This means only 13% of all who passed on had at least one dose of a vaccine, underscoring the importance of vaccination.

Dr Lau said the youngest fatality who was in a care home had a chronic illness and had to be intubated before passing away. Another patient was a 46-year-old cancer patient who was undergoing chemotherapy.

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There are 60 patients who are critically ill, while 74 are in serious condition.

Since the start of the fifth wave in late December when the Omicron variant was first detected in an imported case, 512 deaths have been reported. This makes up 71% of all 717 fatalities reported so far in the pandemic.

Elderly people who are unvaccinated are at high risk of suffering from severe infections

He had more dire news from the frontline, saying more than 2,760 health care personnel have tested positive for Covid-19, while more than 90% of all beds in public hospitals, or far more than capacity, are in use.

There are currently 5921 patients in public hospitals, around 700 patients with less severe symptoms are in isolation facilities in Penny’s Bay and the Tsuen Wan Dorsett Hotel.

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Dr Au said of today’s confirmed cases, seven were imported, while the rest were all locally acquired.

Only one case with the Delta variant was detected, while 1,1192 were suspected Omicron cases. The rest are still being analyzed or the sample was not enough for variant testing.

Many of the new cases involve residents and staff in care homes. So far, he said 2,450 residents and 800 staff in care homes have been afflicted with Covid-19. Involved are 66 homes, 42 of them with elderly residents, and the remaining 24 catering to the disabled.

·         He reminded anyone who tests positive in a rapid antigen test (RAT) to immediately isolate themselves. If they live with other people at home, they should stay in a closed room, and must wear a tight-fitting mask to prevent cross infection.

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People who are self-isolating, including the other members of their household, could take a RAT test on the 6^th and 7^th day, and if they test negative and are fully vaccinated, they can end their isolation.

·         He said the CHP will put up a website soon so those who test positive in a RAT test can upload personal information.

He said he was confident people who reported a positive RAT result would be truthful and not submit false information for whatever reason. Anybody found to have given fake data could be liable to prosecution.

As the virus is everywhere, he said people should stay at home as much as possible.

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Govt to accept positive rapid test results as proof of Covid-19 infection

By The SUN

It's goodbye to long queues for people under CTNs since they can now use the self-test kits

The government has canceled all compulsory testing notices and will instead allow people living in places at risk of a Covid-19 outbreak to use rapid antigen test (RAT) kits to check if they are infected.

Similarly, Covid-19 patients who are fully vaccinated, with mild or no symptoms and have tested positive using RAT may isolate at home. 

They may then use the self-test kits again on their sixth and seventh day in isolation, and if they test negative on those successive days, could start going out.

People in the same household identified as their close contacts could isolate with the patients and follow the same procedure.

RATs may also be used by people living or working in places where the sewage sample tests positive for the virus, or are in high-risk jobs such as staff in quarantine hotels or restaurants.

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The use of RAT in mass scale is part of the risk-based approach announced by the government on Saturday, to streamline response to the exponential rise in Covid-19 cases.

At a press conference led by Health Secretary Sophia Chan earlier today, officials said RAT users should be able to upload their positive test results and other personal details on an online platform to be set up within the week.

Once their information is made accessible to health officials, they should be able to obtain proof of their medical record which they can use to return to their workplace, or for other purposes.

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They should also be able to end their home isolation without having to get prior clearance from the Centre for Health Protection.

However, officials said community testing centers will remain open for people who prefer or need to have a positive result from an RT-PCR test, like those who need it for travel abroad.

Chan also said lockdowns or otherwise known as restriction testing declarations will continue to be carried out on buildings identified as high-risk. Swabs for a nucleic acid test will remain as the testing method during such operations. However, RAT kits will be distributed to residents afterwards so they can do their own follow-up tests.

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Health officials said the decision to allow the mass use of RATs is due to findings of their high accuracy rate, plus the need to step up the detection and isolation of patients amid the spiraling increase in the daily infection tally.

The government said it has distributed 1.3 million RAT kits so far. Up to 100 million of the self-testing kits are expected to be distributed to all 7.4 million residents of Hong Kong, ahead of the start of the mandatory universal testing in the city.

Previously, people who tested positive in a RAT still needed to submit deep throat saliva samples for an RT PCR (Reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction) at a testing centre to confirm the results.

RATs are easy to use and have a high accuracy rate, say officials

Secretary Chan said that though RATs are not the best way to detect infections, they give very quick results and are easy to use.

They will also reduce the workload of government laboratories which have had to process 200,000 samples daily due to the ongoing fifth wave of the pandemic.

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Last Friday, the Centre for Health Protection cancelled compulsory testing notices which had been announced since Feb 21 in 84 places all over Hong Kong.

Instead of being made to provide swab samples for tests, the residents were given RAT kits so they could do the test themselves.

“Although testing resources have now been gradually enhanced, evidenced by more than 4.6 million tests conducted in February so far with an average of more than 200,000 persons tested daily over the past seven days, the demand for testing services keeps on growing due to the upsurge of epidemic,” the government said in a press statement.

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“This has put immense pressure on the work in testing samples collected for nucleic acid tests, with a mass number of samples pending processing. Some citizens (including those who test positive using RAT earlier) may not be able to obtain results after having provided their samples for days, and thus feel anxious during the period. This is clearly not a desirable situation,” it added.

Following the decision to scale down the requirement for RT-PCR tests the following mobile specimen collection stations at the following locations were closed starting Saturday:

•           Kennedy Town Playground

•           Southorn Playground

•           Quarry Bay Community Hall Carpark

•           Tsz Wan Shan Community Hall

•           Kai Tak Station Square Open Plaza

•           Yau Tong Road Playground

•           Cheung Sha Wan Sports Centre

•           Mini-Soccer Pitch, Kowloon Park

•           Tsuen King Circuit Sports Centre

•           Cheung Fat Estate Community Centre

•           Kwai Chung Sports Ground

•           Mei Lam Sports Centre, Tai Wai

•           Che Kung Temple Sports Centre

•           Tai Po Sports Centre

•           Luen Wo Hui Playground, Fanling

•           Tin Shui Sports Centre, Tin Shui Wai

The government press release on the new discharge criteria may be viewed here: https://www.info.gov.hk/gia/general/202202/26/P2022022600750.htm

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17,063 new Covid-19 cases posted, 88 additional deaths

By The SUN

 

Officials announce a change in strategy, saying the worst is yet to come

Hong Kong’s daily Covid-19 tally eased slightly from Friday’s record of nearly 22,000 cases but still remained at critical levels, as health authorities adjusted discharge criteria at hospitals to make room for more seriously ill patients waiting to be admitted.

At today’s press conference, Secretary for Food and Health Sophia Chan said the infection numbers have yet to peak. Since the Omicron-led fifth wave began on Dec 31 last year, she said the number of cases has surged to more than 81,000, with the tally mounting each day.

Yesterday, a total of 17,063 confirmed cases were tallied, culled from positive test results submitted by public health laboratories, and for the first time, also those that came from private laboratories.

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Equally worrying are the number of deaths reported daily, mostly involving elderly patients or those with chronic disease, but within the past few days, also included five children, aged 11 months to 9 years old.

Hospital Authority’s Dr Lau Ka-hin reported a total of 88 deaths which happened yesterday and from two days earlier that were not included in previous reports.

In the past 24 hours, 66 patients died, comprising 39 males and 27 females aged 19 to 101 years old. Between Feb 22 and 24, an additional 22 deaths were recorded, 15 males and 7 females.

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There are 40 other patients in critical condition, and 97 who are in a serious condition

Of today’s fatalities, 60% or 39 patients came from elderly care homes, and only eight of them had at least one dose of a Covid-19 vaccine. All those below 65 years old had serious ailments and needed to be put into care homes.

So far, a total of 607 fatalities have been recorded since the pandemic broke out more than two years ago, and 402 of them happened in the fifth wave.

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Lau said the number of infected health care workers has risen to 2,322, putting additional strain on the already overworked hospital staff.

The outbreak in care homes has worsened as well, with 1,943 residents and more than 600 staff in 470 such facilities across Hong Kong now hit by the virus.

Chan said the government aims to keep its dynamic zero strategy, and hopes to put the infection under control in the next two to three months with help from the Central Government.

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But in the meantime, the government will adopt a risk-based strategy aimed at early detection and isolation.

Part of the strategy is to continue the lockdowns on high-risk buildings, where residents will be made to undergo a nucleic acid test. But thereafter, they will be given rapid antigen test (RAT) kits so they could continue their series of tests on their own.

Compulsory testing notices currently issued will be cancelled, and instead, RAT kits will be handed out to affected residents so they can do their own tests.

The same strategy requiring self-testing will be adopted for residents of buildings found with contaminated sewage, as well as high-risk workers, including those working in quarantine hotels and catering places.

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Anyone who tests positive in a RAT will no longer be required to submit a deep-throat specimen or undergo a PCR test for the case to be confirmed. All that the patient has to do is to register the RAT result in an online platform that the government hopes to set up within the coming week.

Those self-isolating should take another RAT on the sixth or seventh day of isolation and if they test negative and they had at least two doses of a vaccine, they can get out of their house without a need to inform the Centre for Health Protection.

The shortened stay could also apply to patients staying in hospitals, in line with the new policy of freeing up more beds for infected people with more serious symptoms.

“If they consider the patient is relatively stable and ready for discharge, they will arrange for discharge based on different criteria – like the clinical conditions, the symptoms, investigations among many other things,” said HA director Tony Ko.

As was said in previous briefings, the patient’s living conditions will also be considered in determining if the patient could be sent home and spend the rest of the 14-day isolation period there.

The HA also said that eight more clinics that will examine Covid-19 patients with mild symptoms will open from Mar 1, raising the total number of these facilities to 17.

Of today’s confirmed cases, only six were imported while the remaining 17,000-odd other infections were locally acquired. But Chan said the reason the government decided to extend the flight ban on nine countries until Apr 20 is because any rise in imported cases would cause added burden to the city’s health services.

Fire Services chief appeals to patients not needing emergency care to stop calling for ambulance

Also among those who spoke at the meeting was Fire Services Director Joseph Leung, who repeated an appeal for people with mild to no symptoms to stop calling for an ambulance to take them to a hospital, as this could lead to delays in picking up patients who are seriously ill.

Previously it was reported that up to 30% of calls made for an ambulance pick-up involved people who had zero to mild symptoms.

Leung also said manpower supply is tight, as 268 fire services officers have tested positive and 400 have been classified as close contacts.

As of 4pm, he said there were 650 people waiting for ambulances, with the longest wait on record being more than 26 hours.

Also at the briefing was CHP controller Dr Edwin Tsui and Director of Health Dr Ronald Lam. 

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Employees who can’t work for Covid reasons should get sickness allowance

By The SUN

 

The amendment to the Ordinance should benefit even foreign domestic helpers

The government has filed an amendment to the Employment Ordinance ordering employers to pay sickness allowance to eligible employees who fail to report for work due to reasons related to Covid-19.

This should include workers who are subject to a lockdown or compulsory testing notice, and those who have to spend time in isolation after contracting Covid-19 or were classified as close contacts of an infected person.

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The amendment also makes it clear that dismissing an employee due to absence from work because of restrictions on movements related to Covid-19 is considered as unreasonable dismissal.

Under the Labour Ordinance, an employer who dismisses a sick employee is committing an offence and could be fined a maximum of $100,000. The employer could also face prosecution under the Disability Discrimination Ordinance.

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At the same time, the amendment also provides that dismissing an employee who refuses to get vaccinated, unless for sufficient medical reasons, constitutes a valid reason for dismissal under the Employment Ordinance.

Particular mention is made of those who fail to produce proof of vaccination after the employer requests for the same in compliance with the vaccine pass scheme under Cap599L.

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But exemptions are granted to certain employees, like those who are pregnant or breastfeeding their babies.

The amendment carries a sunset clause, meaning it can be repealed when the pandemic is under control and vaccination is no longer a matter of public concern.

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"With the severe impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on our society, it is necessary to strike a reasonable balance between implementing anti-epidemic measures to protect public health and preserving employees' statutory rights and benefits," a statement issued by the government said.

It added that the bill will be submitted to the Legislative Council for scrutiny and once enacted and published in the Gazette, it will start being operational.

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The coverage of the new law should also be deemed to apply to foreign domestic helpers, quite a number of whom have complained of being told they will not be paid any salary while they are isolating after contracting Covid-19.

Several migrant support organizations like the Mission for Migrant Workers have repeatedly reminded FDHs that they cannot be terminated if they get sick of Covid-19. They should also be paid a sickness allowance if they are entitled to it.

Under the Labour Ordinance, paid sickness days are accumulated at the rate of two days for each completed month of employment during the first 12 months, and four paid sickness days for each completed month of employment thereafter.

The daily rate of sickness allowance is a sum equivalent to four-fifths of the average daily wages earned by an employee in the 12-month period preceding the sickness day or the first sickness day (if more than 1 consecutive sickness day).

If an employee is employed for less than 12 months, the calculation shall be based on the shorter period.

For more information on this, please contact the Mission for Migrant Worker through its hotline, 9529 2326.

 

 

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Waiting time for booster shot, 2nd dose for children to be cut

By The SUN

 

Adults can now get a booster shot 3 months after receiving the 2nd dose of a vaccine

Experts advising the government on its pandemic response have recommended a shorter waiting period for booster shots of Covid-19 vaccines and for administering the second dose to children and adolescents aged 5 to 17 years old. 

During their meeting Friday night, the two scientific committees under the Centre for Health Protection and an expert advisory panel to the Chief Executive agreed to cut down the waiting period for the booster shot for adults (those aged above 17), to three months from the previous six months.

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The experts “strongly recommended” administering BioNTech shots regardless of whether the initial doses were of the same brand or from Sinovac.

Various studies have shown that the antibody levels provided by BioNTech vaccines are significantly higher than those gained from Sinovac shots.

Priority will be given to persons aged 60 and above due to local experience showing their higher vulnerability to severe Covid-19 disease and higher fatality rate.

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Adolescents aged 12 to 17 are also recommended to get booster shots, with the waiting time depending on which vaccine they received for their first two doses.

For those who received two doses of Sinovac, they can get a third jab of either Sinovac o BioNTech as soon as three months after the second dose.

For those who received BioNTech, they will need to wait for five months for the second dose. A BioNTech jab is recommended but Sinovac will also be made available as an alternative based on personal choice.

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For those aged 5 to 17, the recommended waiting period between the first two doses of BioNTech vaccines will be cut to eight weeks from the previous 12. The shots should be given at mid-thigh.

Experts also recommended a fourth dose of a Covid-19 vaccine for immunocompromised patients aged 12 years old and above. Younger patients are still limited to just three doses as of now.

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A government statement said vaccines can protect individuals from severe illnesses and complications from Covid-19. Local experience also shows fully vaccinated patients have much lower fatality rate than those not fully vaccinated.

The experts strongly recommended that all eligible persons who have not yet received a Covid-19 to do so immediately.

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For those receiving a vaccine for the first time, priority should be given to those aged 12 years old and below or 60 and above, as recent cases show they are at high risk of getting life-threatening complications from Covid-19.

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