Unidentified man found collapsed on street among 5 new Covid deaths

By The SUN

Tests at Caritas Medical Centre showed the unknown man had brain hemorrhage

A man whose age or identity is unknown was among five Covid-related deaths reported Thursday by health authorities.

The man was found unconscious in the street at about 5am on Monday and was initially rushed to Caritas Medical Centre where a brain scan showed he had brain hemorrhage.

He was then transferred to Kwong Wah Hospital where he tested positive for Covid-19 with a Ct value of 34.2, indicating a low viral load. He was intubated but eventually died early yesterday.

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Dr Larry Lee of the Hospital Authority said they have yet to establish the person’s identity, medical history or age, but initial reports said he was not an elderly person.

The four other fatalities, on the other hand, were aged between 86 and 97 years old.

Meanwhile, the number of new confirmed cases increased slightly to 321 but officials said infections are falling steadily.

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Dr Albert Au of the Centre for Health Authority said the daily figures may continue to fluctuate, making it hard to foresee a trend.

But he warned cases may rebound after social distancing measures were relaxed ahead of the long weekend holiday, which includes Mother’s Day and Buddha’s Birthday on Sunday, and the preceding statutory holiday on Monday.

Among the new cases, 148 were confirmed via PCR tests and 173 through positive rapid test results reported by residents.

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There were 17 imported cases, including 12 detected at the airport. The remaining five were reported on the third, fourth, fifth and sixth day of quarantine of passengers who flew in from France and Singapore.

Au also said there were 26 new cases detected, which included 14 students and one teacher in primary grades and 10 pupils and one teacher in secondary schools.

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The overall infection tally from the fifth wave has now exceeded 1.19 million with 9,120 related deaths.

In the past 24 hours, 152 patients have recovered from Covid and 99 of them have been discharged. 

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With HK relaxing anti-Covid measures, would quarantine be next?

Quarantine restrictions are an obstacle to Hong Kong's travel industry revival.

Covid-19 cases have not increased despite the recent relaxing of anti-pandemic measures, prompting experts to encourage the government to remove more obstacles to the push toward the normal.

For example, Hong Kong still quarantines arriving passengers in hotels for seven days, and is one of the few remaining places with such a travel restriction.

Dr. Ho Pak-leung, microbiologist from the University of Hong Kong, told a local radio program that a lot of places have dropped quarantine and testing arrangements for travelers.

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Hong Kong could follow suit to revive its travel sector.

"We should catch up," he said. 

"I hope the new government will do better in terms of boosting vaccination and putting in place targeted anti-epidemic measures so life could return to normal sooner," added Dr. Ho, who is also chairman of the Health Protection Program for Antimicrobial Resistance in the Centre for Health Protection, and chairman of the Specialty Board in Clinical Microbiology and Infection at the Hong Kong College of Pathologists.

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After all, recent indicators point to a waning trend in the Covid-19 spread.

World Health Organization, for example, reported: “During the week of 25 April through 1 May 2022, over 3.8 million cases and over 15,000 deaths were reported, decreases of 17% and 3% respectively, as compared to the previous week,” the report said. 

Dr. David Hui, chairman of the Department of Medicine and Therapeutics at the Chinese University of Hong Kong and also an adviser on the government's coronavirus strategy, asserted that the city's pandemic situation has stabilized.

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He noted, for example, that Covid-19 cases had not increased even after the government relaxed some social distancing restrictions last month.

He also noted the lowered infection risks for people dining out because of the introduction of the vaccine pass and policies requiring restaurants to improve their ventilation by installing high efficiency air purifiers. 

But Hui also cautioned that Covid-19 has become endemic.

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"After we had a serious Covid outbreak here, it's difficult for the virus to disappear. Many people without symptoms are carrying and transmitting the virus in the community. The antibody level of those vaccinated drops over time. This is how powerful Omicron is. It's become endemic and will continue to exist in our community," he said.

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Pinoy, pinagmullta dahil sa paniningil sa pasahero sa kotse

Lumabas sa Kowloon City Court ang Pilipino na maaliwalas ang mukha.

 

Hindi masama ang magsakay ng pasahero sa iyong sasakyan. Pero kung pinagbabayad mo ang iyong pasahero ng wala kang kaukulang lisensiya ay lumalabag ka sa batas ng Hong Kong.

Ito ang leksyong natutunan ni A. Martinez Jr., isang Pilipino, na pinagbayad ng $3,000 bilang multa ng isang hukom sa Kowloon City Magistrate Court matapos umamin sa paratang na inihain ng HK Police na paglabag sa Road Traffic Ordinance ng Hong Kong.

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Nahuli si Martinez, 43, noong Oct. 7, 2021 sa Peking Road sa Tsim Sha Tsui habang nagmamaneho ng isang pribadong sasakyan na may pasahero.

Sa imbestigasyon ng pulis, nakita sa kanyang mobile phone ang transaksyon sa pagitan niya at ng pasahero, na nagpapakita na kinontrata siya upang isakay ang pasahero kapalit ang bayad na $51. Kinumpiska ang mobile phone upang gamiting ebidensiya.

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Ayon sa Road Traffic Ordinance, bawal ang magsakay ng nagbabayad na pasahero sa mga pribadong sasakyan kung walang lisensya o permiso mula sa gobyerno.

Humingi ang kanyang abogado ng magaang na parusa dahil umamin naman si Martinez at maliit lang naman daw ang siningil nito sa pasahero. 

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Mayroon ding ibang trabaho si Martinez, ayon sa abogado, at hindi umaasa sa kita mula sa kanyang sasakyan.

Ayon sa batas, ang parusa sa ganitong kasalanan sa unang paglabag ay $5,000 at tatlong buwan pagkakakulong.

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Pero dahil sa hiling ng abogado ni Martinez, ibinaba ni Acting Principal Magistrate Peony Wong Nga-yan ang multa sa $3,000 at walang kulong. Ibinalik din sa kanya ang kinumpiskang mobile phone.

Agad binayaran ni Martinez ang multa na ibinawas sa kanyang piyansa.

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Covid cases up slightly at 313 but deaths drop to 3

By The SUN

 

Albert Au of CHP and Larry Lee of HA at the Covid press briefing Wednesday

Health authorities have reported 313 new Covid-19 cases Wednesday and three related deaths, including a 59-year-old man who was found unconscious in his room at the Penny’s Bay isolation facility.

Medical workers provided first aid but the patient died after being rushed to hospital on Sunday.

Dr Larry Lee of the Hospital Authority said at today’s press briefing that the man had chronic illnesses although his condition was not too bad. He tested positive on a rapid antigen test and was sent to Penny’s Bay.

Lee said the coroner will carry out an investigation.

“If patients went to the Penny's Bay isolation facility, and their health conditions changed, with medics on site unable to handle the situation, we would transfer the patient to nearby community treatment facilities or hospitals," Lee said.

But he said the HA is not the one that decides which patients get sent to isolation facilities.

“If relevant government departments think the HA can provide assessments going forward, we are willing to cooperate,” he said.

The two other fatalities are an 85-year-old man and a 90-year-old woman who both passed away on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, Dr Albert Au of the Centre for Health Protection said the infections remain on a steady but slow decline, even if Tuesday’s tally was slightly lower than today’s.

Au said the daily infections need to be reduced to the lowest possible level through social distancing measures and a higher take-up rate for Covid vaccines.

Among the new cases are 22 that were imported from abroad, including seven that were detected on arrival at Hong Kong airport.

Three of the passengers flew in from Spain via flight CX260, two from Singapore on flight TR980 and one each from Germany and India.

Of the 15 remaining patients two tested positive on tests administered at a community testing centre 12 days after their arrival while the rest were found infected during their  seven-day hotel quarantine.

One of the isolation facilities that might be closed soon as the pandemic eases

Asked by reporters if it was true that the government would suspend the operations of seven makeshift hospitals starting next week, Au declined to comment, saying the question should be directed to the Security Bureau.

He said that while some of the facilities may be closed, others will have to be put on standby as new cases continue to emerge.

Labour sector lawmaker Dennis Leung made the disclosure about some facilities being closed down, which he said would result to about 5,400 staff losing their jobs.

What is definite is that five Covid vaccinations will be closed later this month due to a drastic drop in demand.

A government statement said only about 27,200 vaccine doses have been administered daily in the past week.

The statement said the inoculation centre at the University of Hong Kong will be shut on May 23 while the ones in Central Library, Kowloon Bay Sports Centre, Tsuen Wan Sports Centre and Education Bureau Kowloon Tong Education Services Centre will close on June 1.

From mid-May 21 other centers will operate at shorter hours, with 16 offering BioNTech and the five others, Sinovac.

Two BioNTech centres for children in Sha Tin and Tsuen Wan – Yuen Chau Kok Sports Centre and Tsuen Wan Sports Centre – will be relocated from the beginning of next month.

The CUHK Medical Centre in Sha Tin and the Osman Ramju Sadick Memorial Sports Centre in Kwai Chung will be open to children aged between five and 11.

290 new Covid cases reported, 45 of them from schools

By The SUN

 

Officials say the jump in school-related cases was not surprising because of long holiday

The resumption of face-to-face classes in many schools today resulted in 45 new Covid-19 infections being detected.

Health officials said more than 2,000 schools have resumed classes so far, and in each, students and staff, including teachers, all had to present a negative result for a rapid antigen test before being allowed on campus.

Of the cases reported today, 18 tested positive this morning while the rest were found to have been infected with the coronavirus over the long weekend.

The patients included 37 pupils and eight staff members.

The school-reported cases pushed the day’s daily to 290, which was slightly higher than Monday’s.

Among these cases, 132 were confirmed via PCR tests while the remaining 158 were positive results for rapid antigen tests reported by residents.

Dr Albert Au of the Centre for Health Protection said 21 of the new cases were imported, including 13 detected at Hong Kong airport.

They included two who came on flight CX724 from Malaysia, three on CX288 from Germany, six on QR818 from Qatar, and two on SQ894 from Singapore.   

The total tally from the Omicron outbreak now stands at 1,192,452, Au added.  

Dr Larry Lee of the Hospital Authority reported seven Covid-related deaths, which took the city’s fatality toll in the fifth wave to 9,112. The death rate is now at 0.76 percent.

Six of the deaths were recorded yesterday while the seventh, pertaining to an 86-year-old man, happened on Sunday but was not reported on time.

Lee also said special visiting arrangements will restart at non-acute wards in 26 hospitals starting on Friday.

Each patient will be allowed up to two visitors each week, at no more than one hour per visit. This one hour cannot be split up to accommodate other visitors.

In addition, the visitor must have received at least two doses of a Covid vaccine in the past 14 days, and provide proof of a negative PCR test taken within 48 hours or a rapid test taken in the past 24 hours prior to the visit.

The visiting arrangement will be gradually expanded according to how the pandemic develops.

Lee also said there are 1,250 Covid-19 patients currently in public hospitals and various treatment facilities. Seven of them are in intensive care while one is in serious condition.

In the past 24 hours, 96 patients have recovered, and 42 of them have been discharged.

 

Filipino bound over and ordered to pay $15,500 for damaging ATM

By Daisy CL Mandap 

The accused was ordered to pay $15,500 for damaging the ATM's glass screen in a fit of anger

A young Filipino resident who damaged an automated teller machine (ATM) in Sai Wan Ho in a fit of anger was ordered to pay $15,500 in compensation to the bank when he appeared at Eastern Court today, May 3.

A. Delfino was also told he would be bound over for a year in the sum of $1,000 which he will have to pay if he commits another act of criminal damage within the stipulated period.

Principal Magistrate Ada Yim told the accused the charge against him was being withdrawn by the prosecution and that no criminal conviction will be recorded in his name unless he violates the condition for the bind-over.

No order as to costs was made. 

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Delfino, accompanied by his wife, had left the courtroom for a few minutes earlier to deposit the payment for the damaged ATM, and was told about the magistrate’s decision on his return.

The prosecutor said the accused was seen on closed-circuit TV to have used his elbow to smash the glass screen of the ATM located in the BOC branch on Des Voeux Road West at about 11:15pm on Jan 20 this year.

He had left his ATM card in the machine, which led to his being tracked down by investigators. The clothes he was wearing at the time of the incident were recovered from his home.

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He reportedly told police he just had a misunderstanding with his wife at the time, which caused him to lose his temper.

In court, he readily admitted the offence and said he had enough cash with him to pay the bank’s claim for fixing the ATM.

When he went back he was told that he was free to go and could recover his clothes and his ATM from the police.

The Filipino driver who allegedly caused the death of his girlfriend was also in Eastern Court today

Meanwhile, a Filipino domestic worker accused of delivering the blow that led to the death of his former girlfriend, was also in court today.

Bernie M. Valencia, 42, is still being held on a charge of wounding with intent, but prosecutors had indicated the charge may be amended to either manslaughter or murder following the death of his girlfriend.

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The prosecutor asked Magistrate Yim to adjourn the case for another 12 months, or until Jul 26, for further investigation.

At the same time she indicated she would oppose any bail application for Valencia. The defense lawyer said no application for bail would be made.

The court was told earlier that Valencia had hit his girlfriend Ivy Quiabang, 36, after they had a disagreement on December 22 last year.

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He was arrested the next evening after he took an unconscious Quiabang to Ruttonjee Hospital in Wan Chai.

The alleged victim never regained consciousness and passed on in hospital early on Jan. 2.

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15 fined, 1.5k warned for violating social gathering rules

By The SUN

Information leaflets being distributed at Victoria Park on May 1

A total of 15 persons were each fined $5,000 for violating the prohibition on group gatherings of more than four people - or for not wearing a mask in a public place - in operations carried out over the past two days, a statement issued by the government on Monday said.

About 1,500 verbal warnings were issued by authorities at the same time.

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The operation was carried out by law enforcers in various premises maintained by the Leisure and Cultural Services Department.

The operatives also distributed promotional leaflets and broadcast notices to raise awareness about the anti-pandemic restrictions and urge the public to comply.

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Separately, staff of the Home Affairs Department carried out inspections of specified premises over the past three days to ensure compliance with the Vaccine Pass scheme, which requires all those that enter these venues to have had at least two doses of a Covid vaccine starting on Apr 30.

A total of 92 clubhouses and 13 hotels licensed by the Office of Licensing Authority were inspected, during which one customer was issued with a fixed penalty notice or a fine of $5,000 for failing to scan the LeaveHomeSafe venue QR code.

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Two clubhouses which did not keep records of rapid antigen test results of their employees were reminded of their breaches. OLA said it would also consider prosecutions against the licence holders of the two premises.

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Violators also face being ordered to stop serving food and drinks in their premises from 6pm until 4:59 am the next day, and seat no more than two people at a table.     

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Beaches to reopen and up to 8 people may dine together from Thursday

By Daisy CL Mandap

Deepwater Bay beach before the latest pandemic restrictions (File)

In a surprise move, Chief Executive Carrie Lam announced earlier today that there will be a further relaxation of social distancing measures starting on Thursday, May 5.

In line with this move, beaches, swimming pools, water parks will reopen, up to eight people may eat together in restaurants, while those engaged in strenuous activities outdoors or walk in country parks will be able to take off their masks.

Speaking ahead of her weekly meeting with members of the Executive Council, Mrs Lam said the move was being taken amid public clamor as Hong Kong's Omicron outbreak eases.

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She had previously ruled out any further relaxation of measures until the next cycle on May 19.

"Considering the stabilising Covid situation and people's wishes, I'm announcing the relaxation of three measures two weeks ahead of schedule," she said.

In the next stage of relaxation, bars will be allowed to reopen and seat up to four persons per table, and operate until 2am. Also allowed to resume business are karaokes, bathhouses, mahjong parlours and cruise ships.

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In addition, restaurants will be allowed to provide dine-in services until midnight and venues that are open, including cinemas, will be able to take in up to 85% of their capacity instead of the current five.

People will also be allowed to eat and drink while watching movies, while up to 120 guests will be able to gather at banquets. Those who exercise indoors will also be allowed to take off their masks.

But while some restrictions have been relaxed earlier, Mrs Lam said the government will also step up enforcement of the vaccine pass scheme.

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Starting at the end of April, everyone aged 12 and above are required to have received a second dose of a Covid vaccine to enter most venues like restaurants, government buildings, malls and supermarkets.

By the end of this month, everyone must have had at least three jabs to gain entry to these premises unless they have a medical exemption or have been infected with Covid which allows them a few months’ wait before taking the next dose.

CE Lam says the daily testing rule for students will continue for now

But the CE ruled out relaxing the current rule that requires students to present a negative result for a daily rapid antigen test before being allowed entry into schools each day.

“I said at the time of announcing this measure that this was not intended to be a permanent one, but it is not the time yet to review the relevance of this measure because it is still proven to be very reassuring for their schools and also for their parents,” she said.

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Since face-to-face classes resumed starting on Apr 19, 50 students in 56 schools have tested positive for Covid, which the CE said was “on the low side,” considering the number of schools in the city.

She also said that secondary school students are just about to start in-person classes today, so they will likewise have to do their daily antigen tests before entering the campus.

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