Health officials say new Covid wave likely in winter as daily tally hits 6,389

By The SUN

 

Dr Au says the BA.5 sub-variant is behind the rising trend in infections

Health officials warned Saturday that the daily Covid caseload may climb further, and lead to a new wave of infections come winter.

Dr Albert Au of the Centre for Health Protection made the statement as the day’s infection tally rose to 6,389 – the third day in a row that the total caseload has breached the 6,000 mark.

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Au said that according to studies by the University of Hong Kong, the reproduction rate of the coronavirus has risen to 1.2 percent, while the positivity rate from sewage samples is also at its highest level since March.

The driving factor for the rising trend could be the highly transmissible Omicron sub-variant BA.5, which now accounts for 30.2 percent of all local cases.

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"We expect that in the near future, we will have a higher percentage of BA.5 cases, and that will cause cases to grow further," Au said. "This mirrors the trend in other countries. When the percentage of BA.5 cases exceeds a certain level, then the rise [in cases] can be very sharp, and very soon it will replace other sub-lineages to be the mainstream."

He also said an outbreak could occur later this year because the immunity among recovered patients would begin to wane.

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"It's been three months since we had the peak of the fifth wave," Au said. "So we are afraid that as we enter winter there will be another wave of outbreak."

Au also reported five related deaths involving patients aged between 55 and 99, none of whom received the full three doses of the vaccine.

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Dr Lau Ka-hin of the Hospital Authority said most of the fatalities had critical ailments like the 84-year-old woman who had late-stage colorectal cancer and a 99-year-old female patient who had one kidney removed, so Covid was not the likely cause of their deaths.

Lau also said that the number of Covid patients receiving treatment in public hospitals had gone up to 1,904 with the addition of 266 new admissions.

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Seven of the new patients were admitted in critical condition, causing the number of patients in this category to go up to 40, including 12 who are in intensive care. Six new patients were admitted in serious condition, leading to an overall tally of 27 for this category.

Lau also confirmed reports that the Kai Tak isolation facility has been opened in case there is a new surge in cases. This will supplement the 200 Covid beds in the community isolation facility in AsiaWorld-Expo that will reopen next week.

Meanwhile, of the 179 imported cases, 60 were detected at the airport, 57 during the three-day hotel quarantine and 62 in community testing centers.

The infected travelers had come from 45 countries, and four of them had more than 10 passengers who flew in with the virus. These are the United Kingdom with 20 infected passengers, the Philippines and United States with 17 each, and India with 12.

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Pinay DH, natagpuang patay sa kanyang kuwarto kaninang tanghali

 By The SUN

Ang Rose Court sa Happy Valley kung saan nakitang patay ang Pilipina

Isang 51 taong gulang na Pilipina ang natagpuang patay kaninang 12:07 ng tanghali sa loob ng kanyang kuwarto sa bahay ng kanyang employer sa Happy Valley.

Ayon sa mga pulis, ang employer ng Pilipina ang tumawag sa kanila para ibalita na nahimatay ang kanyang kasambahay.

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Agad na nagpadala ng paramedics ang mga pulis sa bahay ng amo sa Unit 1, Rose Court, 115-117 Wong Nai Chung Road, Happy Valley, ngunit idineklara nilang patay na ang Pilipina pagdating nila.

Ayon sa mga pulis, wala naman daw “suicide note” na nakita sa lugar ng pinangyarihan ng insidente. Isasailalim daw sa autopsy ang bangkay ng biktima para malaman ang sanhi ng kanyang pagkamatay.

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Kasalukuyan pang nanghihingi ang The SUN ng karagdagang impormasyon tungkol sa insidente mula sa Konsulado.

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19 arrested in HK-wide raids against illegal work

 

Immigration officers lead one of the suspected illegal workers to their vehicle

Immigration officers arrested 19 people in three anti-illegal worker operations that involved raiding 157 target locations all over Hong Kong over five days on Aug. 15 to 18.

Those arrested included 10 suspected illegal workers, six suspected employers, one suspected aider and abettor, one overstayer and one illegal immigrant.

Immigration Department said its operations codenamed "Lightshadow" and "Twilight" resulted in the arrest of five suspected illegal workers and three suspected employers.

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Those arrested for illegally working comprised two men and three women, aged 25 to 56. One of them was a holder of a recognisance form, which prohibits him from taking any employment, and suspected of using and being in possession of a Hong Kong identity card of another person.

The three suspected as employers were men aged 49 to 66.

The eight were arrested during raids on 65 target locations, including a fish stall, food and beverage areas, premises under renovation, a recycling yard, restaurants, residential buildings, retail shops, a warehouse and shopping malls.  

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In operation "Champion" where Immigrationm officers teamed up with police officers, five were arrested for illegal work, three for employing them, one was suspected aider and abettor, one overstayer and one illegal immigrant.

Of the five suspected illegal workers, three were men and two women, aged 33 to 68. Two of these men and one woman were holders of a recognisance form, which prohibit them from taking any employment.

Those arrested for employing them were three men aged 29 to 65, while one man aged 49 was arrested for aiding and abetting persons who breached their conditions of stay in Hong Kong.The female overstayer was aged 66, and the male illegal immigrant was 37.

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The arrests were made in raids on 92 target locations in Central district and New Territories North Region, including commercial buildings, garages, premises under renovation, restaurants and warehouses.

Visitors and those who violate the conditions of their stay by working without the permission of the Director of Immigration face prosecution in which the maximum penalties are $50,000 fine and two years' imprisonment.

The spokesman warned, "As stipulated in section 38AA of the Immigration Ordinance, a

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“An illegal immigrant, a person who is the subject of a removal order or a deportation order, an overstayer or a person who was refused permission to land is prohibited from taking any employment, whether paid or unpaid, or establishing or joining in any business,” Immigration said. Offenders face up to $50,000 fine and three years' imprisonment.

Those using and in possession of a forged Hong Kong identity card or one that belongs to another person can face a maximum fine of $100,000 and up to 10 years' imprisonment."

“Aiders and abettors are also liable to prosecution and penalties," Immigration said,

Those who employ people who are not lawfully employable also face a fine of up to $500,000 and 10 years' imprisonment.

“The director, manager, secretary, partner, etc, of the company concerned may also bear criminal liability,” Immigration added.

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It advised them to take the necessary steps to ensure a person is lawfully employable befoe hiring them. “Apart from inspecting a prospective employee's identity card, the employer has the explicit duty to make enquiries regarding the person and ensure that the answers would not cast any reasonable doubt concerning the lawful employability of the person,” it said. “The court will not accept failure to do so as a defence in proceedings.”

Offenders face a maximum fine of $150,000 and imprisonment for up to one year.

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AsiaWorld-Expo to reopen to Covid patients as cases surge to 6,445

By The SUN

 

200 beds will initially be made available at AsiaWord-Expo for Covid patients (File)

The Hospital Authority said Friday that it will start using the community isolation facility at AsiaWorld-Expo again as the number of Covid-19 patients continue to climb.

An additional 6,645 infections were reported today, the highest since Mar 31. Of these, 185 were imported, and the rest were all locally transmitted.

HA’s chief manager Lau Ka-hin said 1,898 Covid patients are currently receiving treatment at public hospitals, including the North Lantau infection control centre.

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Overnight, 256 new patients were admitted, and among them, six were in critical condition, and six in serious condition. They took the overall number of patients in critical condition to 46, including 10 who are in ICU; and 25 in serious condition.

An additional eight related deaths were recovered, involving seven males and one female aged 61 to 93 years old.

As part of the third stage of bed deployments for Covid patients, AWE will provide 200 beds for Covid patients, said Lau, as public hospitals are now 70% full.

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At the same time, more non-emergency services will be stopped at public hospitals because medical personnel will be redeployed.

“We are really worried,” said Lau. “When the infection worsens, the impact on our health system will be great.”

He appealed to people not “to take matters lightly,” and ramp up their protection by ensuring full vaccination not just for themselves but for everyone around them.

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The Centre for Health Protection's Dr Albert Au echoed the call, saying the daily infection tally has gone up more rapidly.

"For the past few days, like since August 15 up to now, we are having a daily increase (from the previous day) of...400 or 500 hundred a day. This is worrying. Probably this is all because of the greater infectivity of BA.5 [subvariant]," he said. 

Au also reiterated his concern about the high fatality rate among the elderly, saying 96% of those who succumb to Covid are 60 years old and above. They also make up 80% of those who are in critical condition.

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Among those who died, he said 70% had no vaccination, or did not complete three doses of a vaccine - which experts say is necessary to receive adequate protection against the coronavirus.

He also noted a significant increase in the number of residents in care homes for the elderly or disabled who tested positive for Covid. A total of 13 such facilities reported positive cases today.

In the past week alone, he said 46 care homes had reported a total of 73 residents getting infected, along with three staff members. In these cases, he said the invisible transmission within the facilities seemed to have come from the carers.

Au again brushed aside concerns over the number of imported cases, saying they account for only 4% of the total daily tally.

“Local cases are the major reasons for the rise in infections,” he said.

Of the 185 imported cases, 73 were detected on arrival, 36 during the three-day hotel quarantine, 55 during the medical surveillance period from 4 to 7 days of arrival, and 21 after this period.

However, he said the infections detected after the mandatory quarantine had high Ct values, indicating they were reinfections.

The patients had come from 43 countries, but only six had 10 or more infected travelers: 25 from United Kingdom, 19 from India, 16 from the United States, 14 each from the Philippines and Thailand, and 11 from Korea.

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Doctors may now compel their patients to test for Covid-19

By The SUN

 

People who get a doctor's written order should send a specimen sample for testing within 2 days

From tomorrow, Aug 20 until Sept 2, or a period of two weeks, doctors may require any person they suspect to have contracted Covid-19 to undergo a nucleic acid, or PCR, test.

The test could be done either through submitting a deep-throat saliva sample at government-designated specimen collection points, or through testing by recognized private laboratories, within two days of the doctor's written order.

This is according to a statement issued by the government today, Friday, as the number of new Covid cases shot up to 6,445, the highest since March.

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“According to expert advice, compulsory testing for symptomatic patients can effectively slow down the transmission of the virus by early identification, early isolation and early treatment,” said the statement.

“To keep the epidemic situation under control, the Government considers it necessary to continue to solicit help from medical practitioners in identifying possibly infected persons as soon as possible.”

During the specified period, doctors may issue a written direction to persons they attend to in the course of their professional practice, and whom they suspect to have contracted the coronavirus, to undergo a PCR test.

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Anyone who gets the written order should undergo a test within two days from the date it was issued. This deadline will only be extended in case a Typhoon Signal No 3 or above is issued, or a red or black rainstorm warning, or any “extreme conditions" announcement from the government.

Those subject to testing under a doctor’s written directions may choose to undergo testing through any of the following:

(1)  To use the specimen bottle provided by the doctor who issued the written direction to collect a deep throat saliva specimen and submit the same to any specimen collection point by the testing deadline (for the specimen collection points and times, see at www.coronavirus.gov.hk/eng/early-testing.html). The doctor who issued the written direction will be notified of the test result; or

(2) To self-arrange testing by private laboratories recognized by the DH (see the list at www.coronavirus.gov.hk/pdf/List_of_recognised_laboratories_RTPCR.pdf) by the testing deadline and submit the test result to the doctor who issued the written order or his clinic by email, fax or hard copy within four days after the testing deadline.

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Persons who are issued with the written testing order are advised to stay at home and should not go to mobile specimen collection stations or community testing centres for testing to reduce the risk of transmission.

Like those who fail to comply with compulsory testing notices for designated premises, anyone who does not comply with the compulsory testing directions could be prosecuted and subject to a maximum penalty of $25,000 and imprisonment for six months.

Alternatively, they can discharge their liability by paying the fixed penalty of $10,000.

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Violators may also be issued with a compulsory testing order requiring them to undergo testing within a specified period. Failure to do so could make them liable to a fine of up to $50,000 and imprisonment for six months.

The statement also said that under Cap 599 or the Prevention and Control of Disease Ordinace, relevant officers of different government departments may request individuals to provide information that they deem necessary for anti-epidemic purposes.

Those who fail to comply with such requests for information may be fined up to $10,000.

The statement urged all individuals who are in doubt about their health conditions or are at risk of contracting the virus, such as close contacts or those who visited places where there had been outbreaks, to undergo testing promptly.

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DH 'guilty' sa pagtitinda ng t-shirt pero nakaiwas sa kulong

 

Suspendido ang 3 buwang sentensya ng Pinay na iginawad sa Shatin Court

Hindi naniwala ang huwes sa paliwanag ng isang Pilipina na bumibili siya at hindi nagtitinda ng t-shirt nang mahuli siya sa Central noong Oct. 31, 2021, at idineklara siyang lumabag sa kondisyon ng kanyang visa bilang domestic helper.

Pero hindi makukulong si M. Bulan, 50 taong gulang, dahil ang tatlong buwang pagkabilanggo na ipinataw sa kanya ay sinuspindi ni Deputy Magistrate Fung Lim-wai ng Shatin Court.

Sa kanyang hatol, sinabi ni Magistrate Fung na mabigat ang kasong isinampa kay Bulan. Ang paggawa ng ibang trabaho maliban sa gawaing bahay sa tirahan ng kanyang amo, ay ipinagbabawal ng Immigration Ordinance.

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Ayon kay Fung totoong ang taga-usig ang pumapasan sa pagpapatunay na nagkasala si Bulan, pero nang siya ay tumestigo upang ipagtanggol ang sarili, hindi naging kapani-paniwala ang kanyang salaysay.

Halimbawa, sinabi ni Bulan na tumakbo siya dahil sa takot, nang sabihan ng babaeng binilhan na tumakbo na. Pero ayon kay Fung hindi niya matanggap na ang isang taong may malinis na rekord ay makakaramdam ng takot at tumakbo, samantalang alam niyang hindi bawal ang bumili at wala namang panganib na nakaamba sa kanya.

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Pinansin din ni Fung na tumakbo si Bulan na ang dala lamang ay ang asul na nylon bag na may lamang 31 t-shirt na nagkakahala ng $600, pero iniwan niya ang mga tsokolate, de-lata at ibang grocery item na sinabi niyang binili sa halagang $2,500 at isinakay sa isang trolley.

“Bakit hindi rin niya sinabi sa officer na humuli sa kanya na may naiwan siyang trolley?” tanong ni Fung.

At nang tanungin ng taga-usig kung nasaan ang trolley, ang isinagot ni Bulan ay hindi niya alam.

“Hindi ako naniniwala na may troley nga siya,” dagdag ni Fung.

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Matapos ideklara ni Fung na nagkasala si Bulan, humingi naman ang abogado nito ng mas magaang na parusa.

Sinabi niyang malinis ang rekord ni Bulan sa Hong Kong, at nag-iisa siyang sumusuporta sa kanyang dalawang anak.

Sa kasong ito, suportado siya ng kanyang mag-asawang amo na pitong taon na niyang pinaglilingkuran, at alaga niya ang kanilang anak na dalagang may sakit sa pag-iisip, dagdag ng abogado.

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Sinabi ni Fung na dahil mabigat ang pagkakasala ni Bulan, hindi niya babawasan ang tatlong buwang parusa sa ganitong pagkakasala.

Pero dahil sa panawagan ng abogado niya na mapagaang ang kanyang parusa, ideneklara ni Fung na suspendido ang sentensiya nang 24 na buwan.

Kaya hindi makukulong si Bulan kung hindi siya magkakasala sa loob ng dalawang taon. Kung magkasala siya sa panahong ito, ang tatlong buwang sentensiya ay kailangan niyang ipagsilbi agad, at idadagdag ito sa anumang parusang matanggap sa bagong kasalanan.

Inutos din ni Fung na ibalik ang HKID ni Bulan, pero ipinakumpiska ang mga t-shirt na nasamsam sa kanya at ang bag na pinaglagyan ng mga ito,

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Filipino driver jailed 6 months for stealing from 5 parked vehicles

By Daisy CL Mandap

 

The thefts happened on busy streets of Wan Chai, including one across the MTR station 

A Filipino driver who was earning $17,000 a month was sentenced to six months imprisonment at Eastern Magistracy earlier today, Thursday, after he pleaded guilty to five counts of stealing from parked vehicles in Wanchai between May and June this year.

Edmundo P. Cayabyab, 49, told the court through his lawyer that he was forced to steal because of financial problems, caused mainly by his brother needing medical treatment because of a kidney ailment. He was described as his family’s breadwinner.

The lawyer also told Magistrate Ada Yim that Cayabyab had sent home the proceeds from his crime, which included $56,000 cash. He did not have the means to compensate his victims.

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After deducting 2/3 from the prescribed sentence, Magistrate Yim imposed a jail term of four months imprisonment on Cayabyab for his first two offences, with the sentences to run concurrently.

The magistrate imposed a separate jail term of four months for offences 3 to 5, but ordered two months of this sentence to run concurrently with the previous sentence, making a total of six months imprisonment.

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Cayabyab pleaded guilty to each of the five counts of theft charges filed against him, which all involved property being taken from parked vehicles, four of them in Wanchai and the fifth, in Causeway Bay.

After the defendant was arrested by the police, some of the stolen items were found in his flat, while he confessed to throwing away the others in various places in Wanchai. He also admitted the offences in a statement he gave to police.

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The first theft happened on May 23 outside Exit A3 of the Wan Chai MTR station on Hennesy Road. Cayabyab stole a black backpack which contained $2,000 cash, HK ID card, Home Return Permit, driving licence and credit card, all belonging to Li Hin Wong Galen.

The second incident took place a week later outside Bowrington Road Market in Causeway Bay. The defendant took from another parked vehicle a Muji backpack containing a Prada wallet, driving licence, HKID card, three credit cards, three ATMs and $12,000 cash belonging to Lam Wai Yik.

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The third theft happened on Jun 7 outside 112 Johnston Road in Wanchai. Taken from another vehicle was $2,000 cash and one air pod belonging to Ho Man Hei.

The fourth case took place on Jun 13 outside Chiu Hing Noodles shop on Hennesy Road. Cayabyab took away a Xiaomi backpack and one grey slingbag, along with a Burberry wallet, three ATM cards and $40,000 cash – the property of Liu Ka Lok.

The fifth and last incident happened on Jun 19 outside 178 Johnston Road in Wanchai, where Leung Man Tat lost his backpack, Porter wallet, HKID card, two ATM cards and one credit card to Cayabyab.

Police on patrol intercepted Cayabyab in Wanchai and later arrested him. He had been in police custody since.

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