HK’s Covid-19 cases fall to 3,709

By The SUN 

The continuing drop in cases sparks hopes of a relaxation of gathering rules 

Hong Kong’s infection figures have continued to fall, with 3,709 cases being reported on Sunday, the ninth consecutive day that the number has fallen to four digits.

The new cases included 1,832 that were confirmed through PCR tests while 1,877 were reported by people who took rapid tests.

Dr Chuang Shuk-kwan of the Centre for Health Protection said Hong Kong’s infection tally from the fifth wave stands at 1,158,791. 

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Among the new cases, 10 were imported from overseas, including six that tested positive on arrival yesterday. They came in aboard flight KE607 from South Korea, TG600 from France, QR818 from the Netherlands and Switzerland, SQ894 from Singapore, and EK384 from Thailand.

The number of deaths reported for the day totaled 111. These included 96 patients who passed away on Saturday while the remaining 15 deaths were not reported on time.

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Dr Sara Ho of the Hospital Authority said the patients were aged between 38 and 109.

Ho said the 38-year-old patient had suffered from cardiovascular disease and hyperthyroidism. She went into a coma at home and attempts to resuscitate her failed. Her case has been referred to the coroner for further investigation.

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Among the fatalities, 51 lived in residential care homes, 90 were aged 65 and above, and 59 were unvaccinated.

A total of 7,959 patients have died in the fifth wave, with the death rate now at 0.69 percent. Ninety-six percent of the fatalities were aged over 60 while the mortality rate for the unvaccinated patients reached 3.19%.

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Ho said 10,009 patients are receiving treatment at public hospitals and the community isolation facility at AsiaWorld-Expo. Among them, nine patients are in critical condition, and they are among 78 now in intensive care units; while 17 are in serious condition.

There were 871 patients who recovered and were discharged in the past 24-hour reporting period.

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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.