Filipina appeals for return of lost bag with $5k

By The SUN

 

Elsa shows an eco bag that looks exactly like the one she left behind on a bus

The sudden weather change has inadvertently led to one Filipina domestic helper forgetting her black eco bag on a bus, and along with it, her wallet containing about $5,000 of her salary, a cellphone, ear pod and HK ID card.

According to Elsa T., she was aboard bus no 73 which was on its way from Stanley to Cyberport when she started feeling warm, so she decided to take off her sweater. But to do this, she had to take the bag off her shoulder and put it on the seat beside her.

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She then hurried to get off at the next stop, without realizing that she had unslung the cloth bag from her shoulder and had left it on the bus.

Elsa said she decided to seek The SUN’s help as the one seated nearest to her was a fellow Filipina, and she was hoping that her fellow bus rider had somehow picked up her bag and turned it over to the authorities.

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“Baka lang po may magandang loob na nakakuha at hindi lang alam kung paano ako ma kontak,” she said, adding along with a crying emoji: “pauwi na ako ngayong June.”

(Just in case some kindhearted soul found it and just does not know how to contact me…I will be going home for good in June].

Elsa said she has already contacted the bus company, but was told that no one had turned over any bag that matched her description. She has also reported the loss to the police.

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The money, said Elsa, was part of her salary that she received on Saturday.

“Kakasahod ko kasi kahapon, tapos nagpadala na ako sa family ko. May naiwan na $5k na i deposit ko sana sa account ko, at pambayad sa box ko,” she said

(I just received my salary yesterday and I had already sent money to my family in the Philippines. I had about $5,000 left which I was planning to deposit into my bank account and pay for my door-to-door box]

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After working in Hong Kong for 10 years, Elsa said she is set to go home this coming June. The money that she just lost was meant to go into a nest-egg for her resettlement back in the Philippines.

Anyone with information about the lost bag may contact Elsa at telephone number 98455386.

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Police called in after dispute over FDH's day-off

By The SUN

  

The dispute over day-off reportedly happened in this building in North Point

Police were called to a flat on Fort Street in North Point at about midnight on Saturday after receiving a report that a foreign domestic helper had attacked her employer with a pair of scissors.

A police spokeswoman said the two had an argument over the helper’s day-off but did not give any more details.

The helper, who is female and 45 years old, was reportedly holding the scissors at the time and had wounded the male employer on the forehead. Her nationality was not disclosed.

The police had initially classified the case as assault. However, it was subsequently reclassified as dispute after it was found out that the injury to the employer was caused by “pure accident”, said the spokeswoman.

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No one was arrested in the incident.

The case highlighted a common complaint among FDHs about their employers’ refusal to let them go out on their day off, even when the number of Covid-19 infections has begun to ebb.

In one of the latest cases reported to The SUN, Emie, a Filipina domestic worker says she has been told by her employers to stay at home for the past three months because of the surge in coronavirus cases.

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“Bakit ganoon, hindi pa rin ako pinapalabas. Stay at home pa rin daw. Tama po ba yon. Pero sila nalabas sa baba para maglaro kasama ang mga bata. Yung amo kong babae nalabas kapag mag market. Ganoon din ang amo kong lalaki, pumapasok sa trabaho,” Emie says.

(Why are they still not allowing me to go out? They say I should stay at home still. Is that right? However, they go out with their children to play. My female employer also goes out to do the marketing, and my male employer goes to work.

Emie also complains about the little food given her. She says she is often given between three to four slivers of meat mixed in with some vegetables for lunch. For her breakfast and dinner, she is allowed to go out for about two hours each week to buy food using her own money.

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Emie said she wants to terminate her contract, fearing she might get sick from the lack of food However she is scared of handing in a month’s notice, saying her employers might get angry and accuse her of some misdeed.

In its annual report released last week, the Mission for Migrant Workers said the number of foreign domestic workers who complained of not being allowed to take their statutory holidays rose to 45% last year, compared to just 15% in 2019, before the start of the pandemic.

In 2020 when the third and fourth waves of the pandemic swept through the city, those who were not allowed to take their statutory off days rose to 15% of the total number of complaints. 

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the number of foreign domestic workers who complained of not being allowed to take their statutory holidays rose to 45% last year, compared to just 15% in 2019, before the start of the pandemic.

In 2020 when the third and fourth waves of the pandemic swept through the city, those who were not allowed to take their statutory off days rose to 15% of the total number of complaints.

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Covid-19 infections down to 4,475 but imported cases rise

By The SUN

 

Government doctors hold press briefing on latest Covid situation

Hong Kong’s daily Covid-19 tally fell significantly on Saturday, with 4,475 cases confirmed both from rapid and PCR tests.

Eighteen of the new cases were imported, with 13 of them among the more than 2,000 travelers who arrived on Friday, the first day of the resumption of travel from nine countries previously banned.

Of the new arrivals, four flew in via an Emirates flight EK384 from Dubai via Bangkok, triggering a one-week ban on the flight.

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The flight-suspension mechanism is activated when at least three passengers on a plane test positive on arrival in Hong Kong, or failed to comply with pre-boarding requirements.

Before Apr 1, the suspension used to last for two weeks.

Dr Chuang Shuk-kwan of the Centre for Health Protection said the rise in the number of imported cases was not surprising.

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"The increase in the number of imported cases is expected, because previously we've banned some countries from flying to Hong Kong. All these imported cases will be isolated and treated," she said.

Surprisingly, all three flights from Manila that carried the biggest number of passengers into Hong Kong on Friday passed scrutiny, mirroring the easing of the pandemic situation in the Philippines.

From a record-high of some 39,000 Covid-19 cases in one day in mid-January, the daily tally in the country is now down to just about 300.

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The rapid surge in cases at the start of the year resulted in all flights from the Philippines being suspended one after another for bringing in numerous passengers who tested positive on arrival in Hong Kong.

On Jan. 8, the Philippines was included in the list of eight countries that were stopped from flying passengers into Hong Kong.

A big proportion of the 2,000 passengers who arrived on Apr 1 came from Manila

Meanwhile, 116 people with Covid-19 were reported to have died on Saturday, including 99 who passed away in public hospitals the previous day.

They took Hong Kong’s fatality toll from the fifth wave of the pandemic to 7,848, with the death rate rising to 0.68 percent.

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Included in the tally were 51 recorded in public mortuaries as well as two from the Chinese University of Hong Kong Medical Centre. The rest were all reported from public hospitals.

Hong Kong now has a total of 1,167,713 confirmed cases of Covid-19.

Among them, 10,138 are still receiving treatment at public hospitals and the community isolation facility at AsiaWorld-Expo.

There are 79 patients in intensive care, including 15 who were recently listed as critical, while 27 are in serious condition.

A total of 1,439 patients were discharged from public hospitals during the 24-hour reporting period.

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HK people will be asked to do 3 rapid tests from Apr 8, says CE

By The SUN 

Top government officials join the packing of Covid bags that will be distributed starting today

Chief Executive Carrie Lam says all residents will be asked to test themselves voluntarily for three consecutive days from Friday next week, and report any positive results to the government.

CE Lam said this is the only way that Hong Kong’s actual Covid-19 situation could be known.

She made her statement at her Saturday press briefing, as officials began distributing Covid packs containing rapid test kits, high-grade face masks and Chinese medicines.

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The government says the packs will be distributed to all 3.5 million households in the city within a week.

Mrs Lam said reporting positive test results would be on a voluntary basis, but she urged residents to do their part in getting the infection under control.

"We could only appeal to people's cooperation, riding out their aspirations to resume normal, daily living as soon as possible, and also to be able to travel," she said.

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People will be guided on how to do the tests properly, she added, and only those who test positive should report their results.

But at the same time, she said the plan to conduct universal mass testing using the gold standard PCR test has not been set aside.

She said carrying out the plan is necessary to achieve the government’s dynamic zero infection target. However, she said it is important to plan the timing and capacity when implementing mass virus testing.

CE Lam says the reporting of positive results from rapid tests is voluntary

She also said the large number of people who have been infected but did not inform the government about it pose a problem. Experts agree they should be exempted from any mass testing, but this could not be done if there is no proof of their recent infection.

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"Given the likely large proportion of people in this sort of situation, we still have to listen to our experts in the government and outside of the government before we consider it a good enough timing to commence a compulsory universal testing in Hong Kong,” she said.

In the past week, more positive cases were confirmed from self-declared results from rapid tests than PCR tests. Given this, the government has decided that it is time to further promote rapid testing in a systematic way, said the CE.

She cited studies showing that when the surveillance of rapid test results was conducted in early March, the positivity rate was over 10%.

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However, as of yesterday, Apr 1, the rate has fallen to 1.21%. This means that of Hong Kong’s total population of more than 7 million, between   80,000 to 90,000 people have been infected at this time. 

The CE said she was not worried about public abuse of the reporting system because a random study of the declared results on the government’s platform showed there had been only two cases of false reports being made.

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Hundreds of Filipinos arrive in HK after flight ban lifted

By The SUN

 

The 3 flights from Manila carried mostly Filipino migrant workers

Three flights from Manila carrying hundreds of passengers were among the first to arrive in Hong Kong on Friday, following the lifting of a three-month travel ban on nine countries, including the Philippines.

Cebu Pacific flight 5J272 landed a few minutes ahead of its expected time of arrival at 7:55am, bringing with it a horde of Filipino travelers who all expressed joy and relief at being able to enter Hong Kong again.

Most of them were migrant domestic workers who had waited for months to take up their new jobs in Hong Kong. But there were also residents who were stranded by the flight ban after spending the Christmas holidays in the Philippines.

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One worker interviewed on arrival by RTHK said she got stuck after her Jan 5 flight was cancelled.

At the time, a flight ban on the Philippines was already effectively in place as all planes flying in from the country had been suspended for two weeks for bringing in a number of infected passengers.

Another passenger was a student who said she had planned to come in December last year but was also caught by the flight suspensions.

"I've been waiting for the entire 2022 so far. I had planned to come here in December last year but it has been delayed until now," she said.

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"I feel anxious but really happy that I get to see faces I haven't seen in a long time."

More than 2,000 passengers aboard 26 flights are expected to arrive within today from several countries including the nine who had been banned since Jan. 8.

Apart from the Philippines, the banned countries included Australia, Canada, France, India, Nepal, Pakistan, the United States and Britain.

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First to touch down at 5:16am in Hong Kong today was a Cathay Pacific flight from Hanoi, followed by a 5J272 which arrived at 7:48am.

The flight board shows flight 5J272 as the first to land, but airport data show a CX flight from Hanoi arrived first

Two other flights came from the Philippines, Philippine Airlines flight PR300 which arrived at 9:58am, and another Cebu Pacific’s 5J114 which landed at 8:05pm.

Three flights also came from Taiwan, while of three planes that were supposed to fly in from Dubai, only one came.

Before the travel ban took effect, many travelers from the Philippines, especially the migrant workers, had already faced many obstacles in entering Hong Kong.

Apart from the strict boarding requirements which included a negative result for a PCR test taken within 48 hours of boarding, they also had to fight for very few quarantine spaces allotted to FDHs.

As Hong Kong requires all inbound travelers to be fully vaccinated, all migrant workers who had their jabs in the Philippines also had to wait interminably for the chance to secure the Yellow Card which documents their vaccination record.

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There was a bit of consolation, however, that came with the lifting of the travel bans.

From today, all arriving passengers will only have to serve a one-week hotel quarantine, instead of the previous 14 days. 

Migrant workers get the added bonus of booking their quarantine stay with any of the designated hotels, or at any of the four reserved solely for their use.

Weekend weather: cold Saturday, warmer Sunday

 

Foggy afternoon today in Victoria Harbor. (HKO photo)

A cold and wet weekend is forecast for Hong Kong, due to frigid winds and a band of clouds flowing from the northeast on Saturday.

The Hong Kong Observatory said the temperature on Saturday will range from 13 and 16 degrees celsius, while rainfall probability is 80 to 90 per cent.

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But the weather will clear up in the afternoon of Sunday, starting a steady rise to summer temperatures during the incoming week.

Sunday’s forecast temperature will be 14 degrees in the morning, gradually rising to 20 degrees in the afternoon, with a 10 per cent chance of rain.

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“Under the influence of a relatively dry continental airstream, the weather will improve over southern China on Sunday. It will be fine and dry in the following few days with temperatures rising gradually,” the Observatory said.

The maximum temperature will peak at 28 degrees on Thursday and Friday.

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The weekend weather is influenced by the northeast monsoon, it said.

“The Strong Monsoon Signal is now in force. Strong winds with mean speed exceeding 40 kilometres per hour are expected from the northeast. Gusts will occasionally reach gale force,” it added in an advisory at 4:45 this afternoon.

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“Flower pots and other objects likely to be blown away should be taken indoors,” it advised.

“Those planning for water sports activities and operations at sea should take special care against high winds and rough sea conditions. Conditions are particularly rough over the offshore waters,” the Observatory said this afternoon.

Covid-19 cases drop to 5,823

By The SUN 

Images of Omicron XE strain, said to combine the lethal force of the B.1 or B.2 strains (Yahoo photo)

There was a significant drop in the number of confirmed cases of Covid-19 reported on Friday.

The day’s tally was 5,823, about 800 less than Thursday’s, and the seventh consecutive day that the number has fallen to four digits.

Dr Chuang Shuk-kwan of the Center for Health Protection again said that while the number of cases is on the decline, it is still high at more than 5,000.

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There could also be a rebound if people started to gather again, especially during the upcoming holidays.

She advised people to stagger their outings, go to less crowded places or when the foot traffic is no longer at its peak, and do not take off their masks in public.

Chuang also reminded everyone that the penalty for certain violations of anti-pandemic restrictions was raised recently to $10,000.

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This includes failing to comply with a compulsory testing notice or violating an isolation and quarantine order for infected patients and their close contacts, respectively.

Asked if health authorities were monitoring recent arrivals from overseas for the so-called XE strain of the Omicron variant, Chuang said this has already been found in two travelers from abroad who arrived in mid-February, but did not appear to have spread within the community.

While acknowledging overseas reports that this blend of the BA.1 and BA.2 strains is several times more infectious than the regular Omicron, she said local experts are waiting for more analysis from their counterparts abroad.

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"We will closely monitor the latest information from other places and the World Health Organisation to see if there are any new viral strains that may threaten Hong Kong," she said.

Chuang said the new cases took Hong Kong’s caseload in the fifth wave of the infection to more than 1.15 million.

Of the new cases, three were imported, and involved two air crew who arrived from Bahrain and Canada, and a passenger from Germany.

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The total death toll rose to 7,732, with 116 additional fatalities recorded. They included 96 who passed away yesterday, and an additional 20 whose deaths were not reported on time.

They pushed up the death rate to an all-time high of 0.67%.

Chuang warns th 5+ infection tally is still serious

Dr Sara Ho of the Hospital Authority said the reported fatalities from yesterday were aged between 38 and 103 years old.

The youngest patient was a man who had mental issues, and had three doses of the Sinovac vaccine.

On Mar 17 he became emotional after testing positive on rapid test and slashed his hand. He was taken to a hospital for treatment.

On Mar 28 he was taken to Princess Margaret Hospital when his condition worsened. He was intubated and given antiviral drugs but he died on Mar 31.

Ho said the case will be referred to the coroner for further investigation.

As of the latest bulletin, 10,298 patients were being treated at public hospitals and infection control centres.

Among them, 30 are in critical condition, 24 are in serious condition, and 79 are in intensive care.

A total of 1,473 recovered patients were discharged from hospitals in the past 24 hours.

CE says rapid tests might be mandated, as Covid cases drop anew to 6,646

By The SUN 

CE Lam joins the packing of anti-epidemic bags that include rapid test kits, masks and medicines

Chief Executive Carrie Lam says the government is looking into requiring everyone in the city to take rapid antigen tests to get a better grip of the local Covid-19 situation.

Speaking at her daily press briefing, CE Lam said this is not the time to conduct universal PCR testing as the city’s infection is still raging, but using rapid tests could be a good alternative.

"Can we make use of this relatively accurate and convenient tool to find out Hong Kong's infection status within a short period of time? We will make an announcement soon," she said.

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Rapid test kits will be part of the anti-epidemic bags that will be distributed to about three million household starting this coming Saturday. Also included are KN95 masks, Chinese medicines and information brochures.

Meanwhile, the health officials announced that the number of confirmed Covid cases dropped slightly on Thursday, to 6,646, while 119 new deaths were recorded.

The new infections included 2,859 confirmed through PCR tests and a further 3,787 from positive rapid test results.

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While the number has fallen below 10,000 for the past six consecutive days, the figure is still high, said undersecretary for food and health Dr Chui Tsak-yi.

Infection numbers in four digits indicate a situation that is far more severe than the biggest single-daily of 149 recorded in the fourth wave, Chui said.

He reminded everyone not to flock to graves and columbariums this coming weekend or the Ching Ming Festival on Tuesday, saying a super-spreader can easily cause another outbreak.

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Responding to a reporter’s query about the possible increase in imported cases when the flight ban on nine countries is lifted starting tomorrow, CHP’s Dr Chuang Shuk-kwan said the risk is not that big considering since many people in the city have already been infected.

But she said officials will monitor the situation in case any new variants emerge.

Among today’s cases were seven that were imported, involving two air crew arriving from Germany and five travelers from Thailand, Indonesia and the United Arab Emirates.

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Of the newly reported fatalities, 102 passed away at public hospitals in the past 24 hours while 17 deaths were not reported on time.

Three were aged below 60 years old, and they suffered from chronic diseases or cancer.

A total of 7,612 people with Covid have died in the Omicron outbreak. Their median age was 86.