Filipina accused of slapping 1-year-old ward, then tried to flee HK

By The SUN 

Today was the 3rd time that the accused appeared in Eastern Court

A 29-year-old Filipina domestic worker who was arrested at Hong Kong International Airport as she reportedly tried to flee to escape charges that she had slapped her former employer’s 1-year-old baby girl appeared in Eastern Court again today.

The helper who was named in court records only as DSM, was returned to custody after her duty lawyer made no bail application on her behalf. The first time she applied for bail on Jul 4, the magistrate denied her application.

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At today’s hearing, Principal Magistrate Ada Yim adjourned the case again to Aug. 15 to allow police to further investigate the case.

The accused did not say anything apart from confirming that the she understood Tagalog, the language used by a court interpreter in informing her about what was said in court. No further details of the case were mentioned.

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DSM faces two counts of ill-treatment of a child under her care. The first incident allegedly happened on Jun 1 and the second on Jun 23 in the employer’s flat in Sai Wan.

The alleged victim in both cases is said to be the 1-year-old girl.

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According to media reports the employer had dismissed the helper, then called the police afterwards after finding out that the girl had been harmed. However, the Filipina could no longer be found.

A few days later, the accused was stopped by immigration authorities at the airport as she was about to fly out of  Hong Kong, then called the police.

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She was first taken to court on Jul 4, during which the prosecution opposed her application for bail. The case was heard again on Jul 12 and today, with no plea being taken.

The prosecution has applied for the postponement pending further police investigation and to obtain the girl’s medical report.

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Covid cases down slightly to 3,486

By The SUN 

Queen Elizabeth Hospital has recorded 9 infections, but doctors say there is nothing to fear

Health authorities reported 3,486 Covid-19 infections on Sunday, down by just under 300 from the previous day.

The new cases included 173 brought in from overseas, including 68 identified at the airport, 69 in quarantine hotels, and 36 after the travelers’ seven-day isolation had ended.

Four Covid patients, all women with underlying illnesses aged between 71 and 94, passed away in the past 24 hours, taking the death tally from the fifth wave to 9,224.

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The number of patients in hospitals went up slightly to 1,122 after 126 newly infected people were taken in. Among them, 20 are in critical condition, including five who are in intensive care units; while 27 are seriously ill.

More people in hospitals tested positive for the virus, including four patients and three staff at North District Hospital where an elderly male patient was earlier confirmed as infected.

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At Buddhist Hospital, a 91-year-old female patient was also confirmed, raising the infection tally there to 15 – ten patients and five staff.

Over at Queen Elizabeth Hospital, two student nurses and one patient service assistant from the orthopedics ward caught Covid, taking the number of infections there to nine.

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Asked if the outbreak in hospitals signifies a worrying trend, Dr Larry Lee of the Hospital Authority said it merely reflected what was happening in the local community.

But he said the HA has already stepped up the tests on staff to better protect them and their patients.

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As for experts’ suggestion that the daily rapid tests of students and school staff be halted, Dr Chuang Shuk-kwan of the Centre for Health Protection disagreed, saying  it was an effective way of curbing the spread of the disease in classrooms.

"At the present moment, we only observe a few clusters of cases among individual classes in some of the schools, around a few a day. So I think this is an effective measure to prevent major outbreaks in the schools and it should be maintained in the meantime," Chuang said at the daily press briefing.

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She said the measure helps prevent schools from suspending face-to-face classes all over again.

Chuang also reported 43 additional cases of the BA.2.12.1 Omicron sub-variant and 41 more with the BA.4 or BA.5 sub-variants.

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Asong Labrador, laging nakaantabay sa pag-uwi ng among OFW sa HK

Ni Daisy CL Mandap

 

Malungkot na pinagmamasdan ni Shakira si Cynthia habang
naka video call mula sa kanyang quarantine hotel sa HK

Dalawang linggo pa lang nakakaalis sa kanilang bahay sa Maasin, Iloilo ang isang Pilipina na bumalik sa pagtatrabaho sa Hong Kong ay sobrang lungkot na ang kanyang nararamdaman. Ang dahilan: ang alaga niyang asong Labrador ay ayaw patinag sa harapan ng kanilang bahay dahil naghihintay sa kanyang pag-uwi.

Pabirong sabi tuloy ni Cynthia Merced Salcedo, 46, may asawa’t isang anak, “Mas parang nami miss ko pa siya kaysa sa anak kong 16 na taong gulang.”

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Bago lumipad patungong Hong Kong si Cynthia noong Jul 11 ay namalagi muna siya sa Maynila ng isang linggo para asikasuhin ang kanyang mga papeles pabalik dito.

Magmula noon ay hindi na raw umaalis ang alaga niyang si Shakira sa tabi ng kanilang gate sa pag-asang uuwi na siya. Tuwing mag maririnig daw itong motor na papalapit ay agad nagiging alerto sa pag-aakalang si Cynthia na ang dumating.

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Lagi siya pinapadalhan ng litrato ng kanyang asawa na nagpapakita kay Shakira na animo’y lungkot na lungkot habang nakabantay sa harapan ng bahay nila.

Nagvi video call din daw sila, pero parang mas nakakaawa ang hitsura ni Shakira kapag narinig na ang boses niya.

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“Tatakbo siya agad sa harapan ng bahay namin at sisinghutin ang paligid niya. Hindi niya maintindihan na naririnig niya ang boses ko pero hindi naman niya ako naaamoy,” kuwento ni Cynthia.

Pagkatapos noon ay babalik na sa harapan ng camera si Shakira at makikinig sa boses niya, na halatang halata sa mga mata ang lungkot.

Si Shakira sa harap ng bahay nina Cynthia at naghihintay sa kanyang pag-uwi

Ayon kay Cynthia, binigay sa kanya ng isang pinsan si Shakira noong magbalik siya sa Pilipinas noong Nobyembre ng 2020 pagkatapos ng 12 taong pagtatrabaho sa Hong Kong. Malungkot daw siya noon dahil may alaga siyang Labrador sa Hong Kong na namatay.

“One year four months kong inalagaan si Shakira hanggang nagka babies siya na lima,” sabi ni Cynthia.

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Una niyang naramdaman kung gaano siya minahal ng alaga nung minsan na nagbantay siya sa isang pamangkin sa ospital ng dalawang araw. Noon daw mag-umpisang magbantay sa kanyang pagbabalik si Shakira.

Mabigat man sa loob ay nagdesisyong bumalik si Cynthia sa pagtatrabaho sa Hong Kong dahil umano sa hirap ng buhay sa Pilipinas ngayon. Gusto din niyang paglaanan ang pagpasok sa college ng kanyang nag-iisang anak na lalaki.

Sina Cynthia at Shakira, na ubod ng lalim ang pagmamahalan sa isa't isa

Ang isa pang pinag-aalala niya ang pagpapagamot sa isang nakababatang kapatid na nakitaan ng stage 2 cancer sa lalamunan kailan lang.

Kahit nagtulong-tulong silang tatlong iba pang magkakapatid na nagtatrabaho sa ibang bansa para gastusan ang pagpapagamot nito ay kulang pa rin dahil umaabot ng Php90,000 ang bawat radiotherapy session nito. Bukod pa daw dito ang bayad sa ospital at para sa doctor at gamot.

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Nakatulong naman daw ang pamahalaan sa bayan nila at ang PhilHealth pero kamakailan ang dati nilang tulong na Php40,000 ay naging Php20,000 na lang.

Ngayon ay isa si Cynthia sa mga umaasa na bago matapos ang unang dalawang taon na kontrata niya ay magluwag na ang mga patakaran kontra sa Covid para makauwi siya at magbakasyon – at makitang muli ang pamilya, kasama na si Shakira.

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Health chief says health code will not affect most HK people

By The SUN

 

Lo says only infected persons and inbound travelers will be tracked through the app (File)

Secretary for Health, Prof. Lo Chung-mau, has sought to allay concerns that the planned health code could result in LeaveHomeSafe app users being forced to register their real identities for Covid tracking.

Speaking at a media session after attending a radio program earlier today, Prof Lo said there will be no real-name registration with the app and no tracking except for inbound travelers and infected people.

For most people, he said nothing will change. Only infected people will be given a red code and their identities verified to ensure they don’t leave their place of isolation as required by law.

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“The "red code" is meant for those who have confirmed infection by the PCR test (polymerase chain reaction-based nucleic acid test). These people, they should have their identity registered and the "red code" will ensure safety of the rest of the community,” Lo said.

“In fact, by law, people who are confirmed to have the COVID-19 infection should actually stay at the designated isolation area whether it is a designated place or home isolation.”

Those who will be given the "yellow code" are arriving passengers who will be prevented from entering certain high-risk areas so they don’t expose the community to the risk of infection.

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Lo said the plan is to increase the restriction so the government could perhaps reduce the designated hotel quarantine period.

“That is the whole purpose. If we want to reduce the designated hotel quarantine period and to improve our international communication, we will need this "yellow code" to more precisely identify these people,” he said.

“For the rest of the public, there will not be any increase in restriction and there will not be any tracking function.”

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Professor Lo reiterated that the daily caseload could more than double in two weeks, which would mean 2,000 hospital beds for patients with acute illness could be used for coronavirus patients.

Currently, he said non-Covid patients are already being affected, and by the end of the month a quarter of non-emergency medical services may be reduced.

But he said the government would not stop finding ways to reduce the infection figures.

Hung and Yuen are among 4 experts pushing radical changes in Covid control

Meanwhile, two government expert advisers on Covid have suggested that Hong Kong drop its mandatory hotel quarantine for inbound travelers and expand its vaccine pass scene while gradually relaxing social distancing measures.

Microbiologist Yuen Kwok-yung and clinical professor Ivan Hung have made the suggestion in an article they penned with two other colleagues from the University of Hong Kong.

The four experts said the Covid situation in Hong Kong is becoming endemic and that the Omicron variant has evolved to be more “flu-like” given its potential to cause serious symptoms and deaths.

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They also called on the government to stop locking down buildings and subjecting tenants to compulsory testing, saying these measures are "expensive, disruptive and wasteful."

"They should now be abandoned because we do want a low level of virus circulation to boost our airway mucosal immunity," they said.

To further boost local immunity, they said authorities should approve vaccines for those aged six months to three years old, and further push vaccination among elderly people by enforcing the vaccine pass in more places like markets and supermarkets.

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At the same time, they said the social distancing measures should be relaxed to give the local population “background immunity” protection from Omicron sub-variants.

However, they said universal masking is still necessary to reduce exposure to the virus.

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HK posts new 3-month high Covid tally

By The SUN

 

Today's tally is the highest since April

Health authorities reported 3,762 new Covid-19 cases Saturday, the biggest number since the Omicron surge that began early this year eased in April.

Of the new infections, 229 were imported, including 107 detected at the airport, 103 in quarantine hotels and 19 after the travelers had ended their seven-day isolation.

As before, the biggest number of imported infections had come from the United Kingdom with 43 cases, 18 each from Singapore and Thailand, and 17 from the United States.

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One related death was reported, involving a 72-year-old man who was unvaccinated and had cancer. His death took the overall mortality tally from the fifth wave to 9,220.

Ho also reported a number of outbreaks in various hospitals, including Tai Po Hospital, where four more cases were detected at the male ward of the psychiatry department.

Two staff and two patients tested positive Friday after another patient was found infected on Wednesday.

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The three patients were moved to isolation wards at the Alice Ho Miu Ling Nethersole Hospital and are in stable condition.

At the Hong Kong Buddhist Hospital, a 49-year-old female patient tested positive at the palliative ward, raising the infection tally there to 15. Earlier, nine other patients and five staff were found infected in the same ward.

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At Queen Elizabeth Hospital, two more patients in the orthopedics ward caught Covid, after a patient who just had surgery was found infected. Apart from the three patients, three nurses also tested positive, amounting to six infections in total.

Ho said there are now 1,108 patients being treated in public hospitals and treatment facilities. Among them, 20 are in critical condition, including four who are in intensive care; while 27 are seriously ill.

She said the hospitals are still able to cope with the caseload for now, but if the number of infections continues to rise, there could be problems later on.

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Health Secretary Lo Chung-mao has said in earlier interviews the infections could double by the coming week, leading to some 10,000 people being hospitalized by September.

The upward trend is seen to be caused partly by the silent spread of highly infectious Omicron sub-variants in the community.

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The Centre for Health Protection today detected 73 more cases of the BA.2.12.1 Omicron sub-variant, of which only nine were linked to previous infections.

A further 32 cases of either the BA.4 or BA.5 sub-variant were also found, half of which were unlinked.

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