CE vows to open more quarantine hotels, review flight suspension rules

By The SUN

 

CE Lam says hotels used for isolation will be turned into quarantine facilities (RTHK)

Chief Executive Carrie Lam has told legislators some hotels now being used as isolation facilities will be converted to designated quarantine hotels for inbound travelers ahead of the lifting of the flight ban on nine countries starting Apr 1.

Earlier, she also said in her regular press conference that the government would reconsider its flight-specific suspension mechanism that threatens to limit the number of flights coming into Hong Kong despite the lifting of the travel ban.

Speaking at a virtual question-and-answer session with members of the Legislative Council earlier today, CE Lam said work is underway to open up more quarantine hotels for the thousands of residents and foreign domestic helpers poised to come in after the flight ban is lifted.

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She said occupancy at the isolation hotels has remained low but it would take time for them to transform into quarantine facilities.

“Some hotels have already taken in people under isolation. We have to wait for the isolated people to leave the hotel, and then the entire hotel will have to be disinfected and cleaned before it can allow pre-booking by Hong Kong residents returning from overseas or foreign domestic helpers coming to work here,” she said.

At her press conference, the CE said there are currently 25 designated quarantine hotels with about 6,500 rooms. She said “we are working very hard” to get more hotels transformed into quarantine facilities.

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But despite the looming shortage of hotel rooms, the CE rejected a suggestion by lawmaker Wendy Hong that incoming FDHs be quarantined at newly built makeshift isolation units, saying the government would rather let hotels do the work as they already have booking systems in place.

Earlier, CE Lam also acknowledged calls for a review of the anti-pandemic regulation that allows the government to suspend for two weeks any inbound flight that brings in a certain number of passengers who test positive for Covid-19.

While she received a lot of positive feedback to the lifting of the flight ban, she said concerns were raised on whether there will be enough flights coming into Hong Kong because of this suspension mechanism.

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“I can only say that we know the problem and we are looking into how we could resolve this without compromising our border control measures,” she said.

Cathay is flying fewer planes to HK because of the flight suspension threat

Under current regulations, the suspension is triggered when four passengers who flew in using the same flight route test positive on arrival within a seven-day period.

Three passengers on the same flight who test positive on arrival, or failed to comply with pre-boarding requirements, can also set off the ban.

Tourism industry experts have urged that the threshold for imposing the suspension be raised so it will be only be triggered when a big number of infected passengers are detected on arrival, while employment agency operators want it lifted altogether.

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At least one health expert, Ho Pak-leung, has urged not just a review of the flight suspension order, but also for incoming passengers to be allowed to spend their quarantine at home.

Mrs Lam said her government remains committed to strict border control measures despite the lifting of the travel ban and the reduction of the hotel quarantine period.

“We are still subjecting arrivals, now Hong Kong residents, to very stringent quarantine requirements, which are no longer adopted in most parts of the world; and by the way, they have to be Hong Kong residents, we are not allowing non-Hong Kong residents to come to Hong Kong yet after the lifting of the flight ban,” she said.

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To be able to come back to Hong Kong, they must also be fully vaccinated and must present a presented a negative result for a PCR test and a confirmed booking at a designated quarantine hotel.

On their arrival, they are issued with a 14-day quarantine order but they will be allowed to leave their hotel if they test negative on days 6 and 7 of their quarantine.

Asked about the government’s decision to resume the issuance of compulsory testing notices, Mrs Lam said she was surprised that many people, including medical experts, have expressed doubts about this move.

She said the CTN is an important public health tool that will allow the government to identify people in the community who are infected but are not aware of it because a large percentage of Omicron cases are asymptomatic.

“It is only through testing that we could identify these people and suitably either isolate them or treat them in order to suppress the continuous spread of the virus in the community,” she said.

Now that the city has ramped up its testing capacity, she said the government should be far more proactive in curbing the spread of Covid-19.

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Filipinos welcome lifting of flight ban, reduced quarantine

By Daisy CL Mandap

Filipino DHs may now come in and go home without worrying too much about the cost

Filipinos have largely welcomed Hong Kong’s decision to lift its 3-month flight ban on nine countries including the Philippines and reduce the hotel quarantine for all incoming travelers to seven days from the previous 14 days, starting next month.

Among those who were ecstatic about the move announced by Chief Executive Carrie Lam on Monday were the thousands of Filipino migrant workers who had been waiting for months to come to Hong Kong.

T.T. said she had hoped to take up her new job as domestic helper in Hong Kong in October last year but because of the difficulty of booking a place in a government-designated quarantine hotel she could not come immediately. Then the latest ban was announced in January this year.

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“Sa kasamaang palad nagkataon na utang ang aking ginamit na pera para mag-apply. My God! Yung P50k na utang ko ay naging Php100 na,” she said. (Unfortunately I just borrowed the money I used to process my application. My God! My Php50,000 loan has now grown to Php100,000)

She said she was so happy to hear the news about the ban being lifted but due to initial misapprehension of CE Lam’s announcement, her recruitment agency told her only residents were being allowed to come in. She is still waiting for word on when she could come.

Even Filipino workers in Hong Kong were jumping for joy over the news as it meant them being able to go home for a vacation without fear of being stranded, or paying a fortune for hotel quarantine. This was because before the Omicron outbreak, most new arrivals were made to stay for 21 days in quarantine hotels.

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Ma Theresa Aquino, president of Radiant Organization of Amiable Drivers, which is made up of Filipina drivers in Hong Kong, was among those who were stranded in the Philippines after the latest ban was imposed in early January.

She spent the Christmas holidays in the Philippines and had intended to return middle of January when the ban was announced. Desperate to get her back in Hong Kong, her employer paid for her to go to Dubai for a 14-day “washout” of her stay in the Philippines, then make her way back in.

Aquino in Dubai where she did her 14-day 'washout' to gain entry to HK

Aquino was still lucky because before the Omicron outbreak, most new arrivals in Hong Konghad to spend 21 days in quarantine hotels. They also needed to stay for at least 21 days in another place to get rid of all traces of having stayed in a banned country beforehand.

“Napakagandang balita ito para sa aming mga manggagawa dito sa Hong Kong, lalong lalo na po sa mga kababayan natin na kinakailangan nang mag-umpisang magtrabaho dito, na ang karamihan ay inutang lang ang ibinayad sa gastusin,” said Aquino. “Pati na rin sa mga na stranded dahil nagbakasyon nung Pasko”

(This is great news for all of us migrant workers in Hong Kong, especially those who have been waiting for a long time to start their work here, most of whom just borrowed the money for their expenses. Also for all those who were stranded when they went home for Christmas).

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“Para naman po sa mga kababayan natin na hindi nakakauwi sa loob ng dalawang taon o higit pa ay posible nang payagan ng mga employer nila dahil nabawasan na ang dating 21day/14day quarantine.”

(For our fellow Filipinos who have not been able to go home for two years or even longer, it is possible their employers may now allow them to go because the previous 21- or 14-day quarantine has now been reduced).

Marites Palma, founder of Social Justice for Migrant Workers, is also happy not only for herself but for many of her compatriots who have been seeking her group’s help because of the many problems spawned by the travel bans and Hong Kong’s strict pandemic restrictions.

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“Ako ang unang natutuwa sa pag lift ng ban dahil may isasagot na ako sa mga nagtatanong kung kailan makakapasok ang mga baguhang lampas na sa ulo ang utang dahil sa nagastos sa pag-apply nila papunta dito sa Hong Kong,” she said.

(The lifting of the ban makes me particularly happy because I am now able to respond when asked when the newcomers who are over their heads in debts they incurred in securing their jobs, could come to Hong Kong).

“Tungkol naman sa pagpapaiksi ng quarantine ay lubos akong natutuwa kasama ang aking buong grupo dahil hindi na maghihirap ang kalooban ng mga baguhan sa pagkakakulong ng 21 araw. Napakahirap na sa unang araw pa lang ng pagdating nila sa ibang bansa ay kailangan nilang mag-isa sa quarantine hotel, at mahirap lunukin ang mga pagkain na binibigay sa kanila.

“Salamat din sa Hong Kong dahil pitong araw na lang ang quarantine para hindi na magbayad ng mahal ang mga employer sa hotel, at higit sa lahat, maari na rin kaming makapagbakasyon sa Pilipinas.”

Palma on a mission to deliver relief packs to fellow migrants in distress

(As for the shortened quarantine I am very glad, along with the rest of my group, because the newcomers will be spared the pain of being confined for 21 days in a hotel. It is extremely difficult to be isolated in a quarantine hotel from the first day of your arrival in a foreign land.

(But thanks to Hong Kong for the seven-day quarantine because employers will no longer have to spend a lot on hotels, and most importantly, this will allow all of us to go back home to the Philippines).

The latest ban was imposed in early January, after the Omicron variant was detected among new arrivals in the city. At that time, Omicron was wreaking havoc in many countries including the Philippines, which recorded its highest daily tally since the start of the pandemic two years ago.

Employment agency operators are understandably also relieved that Hong Kong’s flight and quarantine restrictions have been relaxed because it means all their recruits who have been on standby in the Philippines for months can now come in.

Thomas Chan, chair of the Hong Kong Union of Employment Agencies said: “We in the employment industry absolutely welcome the lifting of the travel ban and the reduced quarantine from 14 nights to seven nights. This will of course reduce the burden on employers. At the same time, quarantine hotels will be able to accommodate more inbound travelers.”

Chan said his group estimates that for the past three months that the latest ban was in force, 2,000 Hong Kong-bound Filipino workers on average were unable to come.

Including the 2,000 others who were unable to leave earlier because of various restrictions, some 8,000 Filipino workers could start coming in over the next few months.

There is a catch, however. With the expected surge in demand after the April 1 implementation of the ban’s lifting, the going rate for hotel rooms has hit the roof.

Previously, the highest amount charged per room by a designated quarantine hotel for FDHs was $800, while others charged anywhere between $500 and $600 per night.

Chan said that the hotel rooms he managed to book for three workers on Wednesday cost $1,350 per night, and that’s even for late May. This prompted the employers to reportedly quip that even when they stay in 5-stay hotels for staycations, they only pay around $800 to $1,000 a night.

But given that the length of stay in the quarantine hotels has now been cut down to a third of the previous period, the amount comes out less than what employers were made to shell out before. More importantly, the door to Hong Kong is now open again.

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Compulsory testing to resume as cases remain steady at 14k

 By The SUN

Many fear Covid-19 cases might surge again if people are forced to line up anew for testing (file)

Health officials have reported a total of 14,152 new Covid-19 cases Tuesday, roughly the same number posted for the past two days.

The cases included 9,856 confirmed from rapid antigen tests (RAT) and 4,296 from PCR tests.

They took Hong Kong’s Covid-19 tally in the fifth wave to 1,063,279

Ten of the cases were imported, including four who came from Thailand, four from Indonesia, one from Japan and another from Vietnam.

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Deaths remained at a high level with a total of 237 new cases added to the tally, including 190 that occurred in the past 24 hours and 47 that were not reported on time. Eight other fatalities tested positive during autopsy.

Meanwhile an announcement by Health Secretary Sophia Chan that the LeaveHomeSafe app will again start issuing compulsory testing notices has sparked concern.

The app notification to people that they must get tested for Covid after they had been to the same place for at least two hours as confirmed patients was suspended in late February when there was a sudden increase in infections.

The government said back then that the CTNs issued through the app would be stopped as the city’s testing capacity had been overwhelmed.

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But speaking on a radio program today, Chan said the notification function will resume this week as the cases were starting to decline.

Asked if this would just lead to a renewed surge in cases, Dr Albert Au of the Centre for Health Protection said the aim is precisely to track as many asymptomatic patients as possible to stop the silent transmission of the virus.

“If cases rise because of the CTNs then we are achieving our purpose,” he said.

Au also allayed concerns about the continuing rise in the number of Covid-related deaths.

He said the figures released today included a backlog from two weeks ago, when the infection tally was at its most severe, at between 60,000 to 70,000 a day.

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Au said there have been 6,151 deaths in the fifth wave, raising the death rate to 0.58%. Not all deaths are however, directly attributable to the virus.

Among the cases reported so far are 35 which happened outside public hospitals, meaning the patient died before they were tested positive for the coronavirus.

He repeated the call for people to get vaccinated, especially the elderly. He said 88% of those who succumb to the virus are unvaccinated or had only one dose of a vaccine, but for those aged 90 and above, the ratio goes up to 90%.

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Dr Larry Lee of the Hospital Authority said that of the 190 people who died on Monday, 105 were males and 85 were females, aged 42 to 107.

Six of them were under 65 years old, and all had pre-existing health condition, including the youngest patient who had a heart transplant. At least two were found to have pneumonia after being taken to hospital.

The 47 other patients whose deaths were not recorded on time died between Mar 7 to Mar 20. They comprised 30 females and 17 males aged 62 to 102 years old.

As of the latest bulletin, 11,646 patients were being treated in public hospitals and the community isolation facility at AsiaWorld-Expo.

Among them, 41 are in critical condition, and 25 of them are not vaccinated; 82 are in serious condition while 114 patients have been admitted to intensive care.

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Covid-19 cases drop slightly to 14,068 with 223 deaths

By The SUN

 

It's the second day in a row that about 14,000 cases were recorded

Hong Kong’s cumulative number of Covid-19 cases remained steady at just above 14,000 for the second consecutive day.

According to the Centre for Health Protection, the number of confirmed cases from both PCR and rapid tests came up to 14,068. Of these, 9,545 were detected using rapid antigen tests (RAT) while 4,523 were from PCR.

Five cases were imported, involving travelers from Indonesia, Singapore, Thailand and Bahrain.

They took the city’s confirmed cases from the fifth wave to 1,049,127.

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A sampling of the new cases tested negative for the Deltra strain, L452R so they were all classified as suspected Omicron.

The number of deaths continued to rise, with 223 being added to the tally today. Of this number, 179 were recorded in the past 24 hours while the remaining 43 occurred between Mar 15 and 19 and were reported late.

CHP’s Dr Chuang Shuk-kwan said that the death toll from the fifth wave now stands at 5,897, including 27 patients who died outside public hospitals.

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The additional number pushed the death rate to 0.56%.

Among the fatalities, the average age was 85 years old, and 58% lived in care facilities while 88% had pre-existing medical conditions.

Among those aged 80 and above, the death rate was almost 90%.

The data also show that 90% of the deceased did not receive any Covid-19 vaccine, or just had one dose.

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Chuang said the death rate for those who had two doses or more of a vaccine was 0.1%, whereas it rose to 0.62% for those who had one dose. The unvaccinated had 2.75% probability of dying

She said that it is clear from the figures that vaccination protects people from death if they contract Covid-19.

CHP says the possibility of death is highly reduced when people get vaccinated 

Dr Larry Lee of the Hospital Authority said 11,103 patients are being treated in public hospitals and the community isolation facility in AsiaWorld-Expo.

Among them, 43 more were listed in critical condition, of whom 21 are unvaccinated; and 69 are in serious hospital. Of the accumulated number of critical cases, 111 are in intensive care.

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Those who were discharged from hospital over the past 24 hours totaled 392.

Among those recorded as having died on Sunday, 102 were males and 77 were females, and they were aged 44 to 103.

An overwhelming majority, 153 or 85%, were unvaccinated or had one dose of a vaccine.

There were five who were under 60 years old and all of them, including the youngest fatality, had various chronic illnesses like diabetes, heart or liver and kidney problems or stroke.

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Among the 43 cases that were not reported on time was a 14-year-old patient who fell from height and was taken to Queen Elizabeth Hospital. A post-mortem showed he was positive for Covid-19.

Meanwhile, latest figures show that the number of people who have taken the first dose of a vaccine has risen to 6,162,063, or 91.5% of the eligible population.

Those who have had the second dose numbered 5,530,883 or 82.1% of the eligible population, while the number of those who got a third or booster shot, rose to 2,484,411.

All of those who had two jabs are required to get a booster by the end of May this year to qualify for the vaccine pass at listed premises like restaurants, malls, supermarkets, beauty salons and most leisure facilities like theaters and sports venues.

Flight bans lifted, quarantine cut to 7 days

By Daisy CL Mandap 

CE Lam says the Covid situation in the banned countries not any worse than HK

Chief Executive Carrie Lam has announced that the flight bans imposed by Hong Kong on nine countries will be lifted starting Apr 1, and hotel quarantine for all arriving travelers will be cut to seven days instead of the current 14.

Speaking at her daily press conference, CE Lam said the Covid situation in the banned countries is not any worse than in Hong Kong so there was no longer a need to prevent residents there from coming in.

Among the countries covered by the flight ban that has been in place since January this year are the Philippines, Australia, Canada, France, India, Nepal, Pakistan, the United States and United Kingdom.

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The order also removes all classifications for countries, meaning, they will no longer be classified as “high risk” and so on.

All inbound travelers must, however, be fully vaccinated - meaning, they must have at least two doses of a Covid vaccine before boarding. They should be able to present a recognized vaccine certificate to prove this.

Asked if the new measure applies even to foreign domestic helpers, Philippine Consul General Raly Tejada told The SUN "It's for all, including helpers with valid visas."

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In addition, travelers will be required to present a negative result for a PCR test done within 48 hours of boarding and a confirmed booking for seven days at a designated quarantine hotel.

Mrs Lam said the reduction in the time spent by arrivals in hotel quarantine is “completely in line” with local regulations that permit infected residents who tested negative on the 6^th and 7^th day of their isolation to resume their normal lives.

On their arrival, the passengers must test negative on a PCR test, and also on subsequent tests while in quarantine. These include rapid tests daily from the second day until the fourth, a PCR test on the fifth day, and rapid tests again on the 6^th and 7^th day.

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“If all results are negative then they can end their seven-day quarantine,” said the CE.

After leaving their quarantine hotels, the new arrivals will only be required to conduct self-surveillance for the next seven days, and on day 12, submit themselves to a PCR test at a community testing centre.

According to the CE, this is just to ensure that they did not catch the virus at their quarantine hotel.

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Travelers who test positive at any stage after their arrival will be taken to a community isolation facility.

CE Lam also announced that the planned compulsory universal testing was being put on hold as it would require a lot of manpower and time that Hong Kong is not able to spare at the moment.

She candidly admitted that the government realized that the task was not was easy as it looked.

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Around 80,000 people will need to be mobilized to help implement the scheme, which would require restricting people's movements while they are tested three times.

She mentioned that the Mainland authorities thought Hong Kong was "rather weak" in mobilizing resources, or in making residents comply with compulsory testing orders.

During localized lockdowns, she said around 16% of residents defied the compulsory testing notice, and up to 29% did not open their doors to authorities who checked for compliance.

As regards the strict social distancing rules imposed on Feb 22 when the daily infection tally surged to more than 50,000 the CE said they will remain in place until at least the original target date of Apr 20.

If the number of confirmed cases has continued to decline by then, she said the restrictions will be lifted in three phases, with the initial stage to include allowing a maximum of four persons to gather in public and evening dine-in at restaurants resumed.

The second phase would allow up to eight people to get together and eat in restaurants, beaches and bars to reopen, and so forth.

The last stage would remove all restrictions except the wearing of masks in public and the continued implementation of the vaccine pass.

For the latest information on the government's Covid-19 regulations, please refer to the website: www.coronavirus.gov.hk

Covid-19 cases fall further to 14,149 but death toll remains high

By Daisy CL Mandap

People are going out more as the infection continues to ease

Hong Kong’s confirmed cases of Covid-19 have fallen below 20,000 for the second consecutive day in a further sign that the infection has begun to ease.

Health officials reported a total of 14,149 new Covid-19 infections on Sunday, the lowest number recorded in the past three weeks when the Omicron outbreak caused a surge in cases.

Among the latest cases, 8,273 came from rapid test results reported by patients while 5,876 were confirmed via PCR tests.

All but four were local cases – three flew in from Thailand and Mauritius while one came from Singapore.

Dr Chuang Shuk-kwan of the Centre for Health Protection said the drop in infections could have been caused by several factors, including a peak in the outbreak having been reached, the increase in vaccination and social distancing measures taking effect.

But she again warned that a rebound could ensue if people started gathering again or fail to observe personal hygiene.

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Chuang also said that an additional 246 deaths were added to the total tally, including 205 that were added yesterday, and 41 that were not reported on time.

There are now a total of 1,035,059 Covid infections and 5,683 deaths in the Omicron outbreak in Hong Kong. The death rate has risen slightly to 0.55%.

Among those who died were 27 whose infections were detected during autopsy of patients who died outside of hospitals.

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According to Hospital Authority’s Dr Lau Ka-hin, those who died at home included one who fell off a building and one who had a stroke and had no symptoms. They were discovered to have been infected at the morgue.

He said it would take time to analyze the more than 5,000 cases listed as Covid-19 related. With younger patients, he said it was easy to diagnose the deaths as being due to the coronavirus, but not so with most of the fatalities who were elderly and had chronic diseases.

Lau said that 84% of the 205 Covid patients who died on Saturday were either unvaccinated or had only one dose of a vaccine.

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Those who were aged 65 years old and above numbered 194 but there were four younger patients, aged between 44 and 58. They all they suffered from chronic illnesses like brain disease, liver cirrhosis, diabetes, kidney failure and lung cancer.

The 41 others whose deaths were not reported earlier were aged 45 to 98 years old.

The government has rushed to vaccinate residents of elderly care homes to stop the virus spread

Meanwhile, leading microbiologist Yuen Kwok-yung told reporters earlier on Sunday that Hong Kong does not have to achieve zero infections as long as everyone is vaccinated.

Yuen said that some 2.5 million people in Hong Kong have already been infected, and that it is not likely that the virus will go away.

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"You can achieve a low level, but it's highly unlikely that it will disappear because the virus will mutate and change its surface protein so that your neutralising anti-bodies are not able to neutralise it," he said.

Instead of conducting citywide testing, he said the focus should be more on reducing mortality and hospitalization figures.

Yuen also said Hong Kong should allow international travelers to come in as long as they are fully vaccinated and test negative on arrival.

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"The amount of cases in the community is far higher than the risk of introduction from overseas travellers. I do not think there's a need to wait any longer," he said.

But he said the new arrivals should be required to conduct daily rapid tests for a time, and required to isolate if they test positive.