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Mom’s death new blow to DH wrongly accused of having Covid-19

Posted on 30 March 2020 No comments
By Vir B. Lumicao

Marilou is shown waiting for her test result, which turned out to be negative

A Filipina domestic worker who was locked out and wrongly accused by her employers of carrying the coronavirus on her return from Manila on Mar 20 has received yet another blow.

Marilou L., posting from her hotel room where she is spending her 14-week home quarantine after testing negative for the virus, announced the demise of her mother on Mar 28.

The distraught worker did not mention the cause of death of her mother, who her friends called Nanay Elis. She did not respond, either, to queries sent through messenger.


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In earlier post on Facebook on Mar 28, Marilou lamented her mother’s passing while she was confined to her hotel room because of the mandatory quarantine. She said she was filled with grief because she would never see her mother again.

She later replaced that with a deeply spiritual grief quote from Indian poet and author Nishan Panwar: “Death takes the body. God takes the soul. Our mind holds the memories. Our heart keeps the love. Our faith lets us know we will meet again. [I love u very much].”

The latest blow came as Marilou struggles with the specter of losing her job. Just before she moved to the hotel to resume her quarantine, she asked her female employer if she could resume work with them but got no definite answer.

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The succession of adverse events began when the single mother went home on Mar 16 for a supposed month-long vacation. She had just decided then to renew her employment contract with the Hong Kong family that she works for at the Olympic in Kowloon.

She said she had barely savored her reunion with her 16-year-old daughter and 11-year-old son when her employers recalled her to Hong Kong because of news that the situation in the Philippines was getting worse due to the pandemic.

On Mar 20, she flew back to Hong Kong, arriving in the evening. The next morning, her female employer heard her cough due to a sore throat and became hysterical. She said her employers immediately told her to leave because she had put them at risk of getting infected by the virus.
She sought help online from the community and through a private message, and calmed down only after Welfare Officer Virsie Tamayao of the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration talked to her and her employers.

On the same day she was fetched by an ambulance and taken to the North Lantau Hospital for Covid-19 tests that turned out negative after hours of waiting.

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At dawn on Mar 22, she was put in the hotel by her male employer, who gave her $5,000 for her expenses throughout the quarantine period.

But her female employer, accordingly the more hysterical of the spouses, indirectly told the helper she does not want her back for fear of the infection.

She will find out what fate awaits her when she finishes her quarantine on Apr 5.
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Plane on medical mission crashes at NAIA, kills all 8 people on board

Posted on No comments
by The SUN


The Lionair plane caught fire before it could even take off (photos from Philip Lustre)

A Lionair West Wind aircraft said to be on a medical mission to Japan caught fire as it was taking off at Ninoy Aquino International Airport earlier tonight, instantly killing all eight people on board.
Killed were three flight crew, a doctor, nurse, a Canadian patient and his companion.

Lionair plane Flight RPC 5880 was about to fly off to Haneda airport in Japan when it exploded at about 8pm. The fire was put out at 9:02pm.

The runway was temporarily closed while the Civil Aeronautics Authority is investigating the incident, said a statement released by the Manila International Airport Authority.

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MIAA confirmed that no passenger survived the accident.

A flight manifest circulating on social media named the fatalities as Ren Edward Ungson, Melvin de Castro and Mario Medina, pilots; Edmark Dael, flight medic; Dr. Cenover Bautista, Conrado Tomeldan, Jr., nurse; John Richard Hurst, patient; and Marilyn de Jesus, companion.
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Filipinos keep off Central as new social distancing measure takes effect

Posted on 29 March 2020 No comments
By The SUN
Statue Square on a Sunday has never been this near-empty, except during last year's protests

The favorite haunts of Filipino migrant workers in Central were mostly quiet on Sunday, Mar 29, as a new government regulation to limit the number of people gathering in public places to no more than four, took effect.

Few Filipino workers taking their day off were seen in Statue Square, their favorite meet-up place in the financial district, obviously mindful of the new restriction which goes with a $25,000 fine and six months’ imprisonment.

The same was true on the footbridges, parks and pedestrian walkways surrounding the area, from United Centre in Admiralty, to the HSBC headquarters on Des Voex Road, City Hall and General Post Office in Edinburgh Place, and World Wide House on Connaught Road.
Most of the workers gathered in groups of four or less, in line with the restrictions announced on Friday, Mar 27, and will last for the next 14 days. But a few did not seem to pay heed as they played cards, or haggled with itinerant vendors still plying their wares.

A number of police officers roamed the workers’ favorite haunts, but appeared to be more intent on giving reminders instead of warnings.
Consul Paul Saret, head of the Consulate’s assistance to nationals section, said he expected the authorities to just issue a warning and not arrest anyone for violating the four to a group restriction.

“Siguro naman ho hindi sila ganyan ka istrikto sa unang araw,” he said.
Consul Saret says police won't be so harsh as to arrest anyone of the day the regulation took effect

A police spokesman confirmed this. “In the early days of the implementation of the regulations, the police will remind the public to cooperate with the requirements of the regulations through verbal explanations, exhortations or warnings.

“To prevent the spread of the epidemic, public awareness cooperation is more effective than law enforcement. The police appeal to the public to comply with the new regulations. They must cooperate immediately when facing police enforcement actions and remind everyone around them to cooperate.”
The officer said that when public health is threatened, everyone has to work together to fight the epidemic.

For migrant domestic workers, the message was given more emphasis when the Labour Department issued advisories on two consecutive days, advising them to stay indoors, or if they do go out, to make sure there were no more than four of them in a group.

Dolores Balladares, chairperson of United Filipinos (Migrante) in Hong Kong, said there were even fewer people in the morning in Central, when her group went around to inform fellow workers about the new regulation.
Balladares displays her group's poster reminding migrants about the prohibition against big gatherings

“Marami ang hindi nag day-off ngayon, kasi kinausap ng kanilang mga amo,” she said. “Nasa sa kanila na yun kung papayag sila, pero sinabihan pa rin namin sila na karapatan nila ang mag day off kung gusto nila, o kailangan.”

Balladares said one of her members had asked if she could insist on going out because she needed to send money home, but the veteran leader said she advised her to just ask for another day when she could do this.

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Over at St. John’s Cathedral on Garden Road, the surrounding area which normally teems with hawkers and people offering services like manicure and haircut, was unusually  quiet and deserted.

Esther Bangcawayan, a case officer of the Mission for Migrant Workers which has its office in one of the buildings in the area, noted that many workers appeared to have heeded the call to stay at home on their rest day.

“Wala namang problema sa atin iyon, basta huwag lang pagtrabahuhin ng mga amo nila. Para sa kabutihan din naman nila,” said Bangcawayan.
Chater Garden is eerily empty

The few workers who did venture out passed their time sitting on concrete benches making calls, or tinkering with their phones.

“Halos walang tao ngayon, natakot sila sa balitang magmumulta ng $25,000,” said Aling Estrella, who said she had hung out on a covered promenade in Chater Garden for years. “Dati-rati marami sila rito, mga taga-Nueva Vizcaya, kumakain at nagkukuwentuhan habang nagpapahinga,” she said.

But she conceded it was a good way of avoiding the infection.

At Tamar Park in Admiralty, Jena Carrera and a friend sat on the grass enjoying their lunch.

Jena said she was lucky to have employers who still allowed to take her day off, but only cautioned her to stay away from crowds.  
Jen and friend had Tamar Park all to themselves

Only World-Wide Plaza, known as the Filipino business hub in Hong Kong, still drew in the crowds as workers went there to remit money to their families or pick up Filipino goods.

It's business as usual in World-Wide Plaza

Guards at the mall marshaled the flood of people getting in, but, unlike in most other establishments, there was no temperature check for customers.

It’s still early days, but on this day at least, Filipinos showed they were one in ensuring the community’s safety amid the raging pandemic.
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67 cases now linked to bars, but imported cases top the list

Posted on No comments
By The SUN

The latest cases reported involve 3 staff members of All Night Long in Tsim Sha Tsui

A total of 67 cases of Covid-19 infections have now been linked to cases involving at least four bars across Hong Kong, including not just musicians, staff and their family members, but also patrons.

Hong Kong health officials also said today, Mar 29, that four bars apart from those already identified, have emerged as the cause of some new infections. They did not,  however, name the four new bars.

Still, most of the newly confirmed cases are of people who have just arrived from abroad, mostly college students returning from their schools in the United Kingdom.

Over the weekend, a total of 123 new confirmed cases were recorded, for a total tally of 642. Saturday’s 64 new cases nearly matched the record 65 cases reported on Friday.


Among the new cases involving the so-called Lan Kwai Fong cluster was a family of four in Mid-Levels, who were all recorded as having tested positive on Mar 28. They included a bar staff, his wife and two sons, aged 15 and 7.

Four other linked cases were reported on the same day, involving two bar employees and two customers.

On Mar 29, three more patients were linked to the cluster cases, all employees of All Night Long bar in Tsim Sha Tsui.
The other bars have been identified as Insomnia in Lan Kwai Fong, and Dusk till Dawn and Centre Stage in Wan Chai. All of the bars, along with nine bands made up mostly by Filipinos, are reportedly managed by a company called Step-by-Step.

Separately, a 40-year-old woman reported to be linked to the bar cluster, had tested preliminary positive on arrival in Hong Kong, after vacationing in Macau for five days. During her vacation, she reportedly ate everyday at a Jollibee outlet, but also went shopping for groceries.

Consul Paul Saret, head of the Consulate’s assistance to nationals section, says they have reached out to all Filipino patients who have been infected and are in hospitals.
“We have responded to their simple requests, like sending them battery packs for their cell phones so they can continue communicating with their family members,” he said. “Some only asked for fruits.”

He said Hong Kong health authorities have yet to update them on the total number of Filipino patients, likely because of the huge number of new cases being reported each day for the past several days.
 
The cases are called the Lan Kwai Fong cluster because the first reported infection was traced to Insomnia on this street 

As of the latest Consulate tally, 16 Filipinos are still in hospital, while four have been discharged after recovering. Most work as domestic helpers, but they also include six musicians.

The huge spike in new cases has prompted Hong Kong health authorities to warn that public hospitals are about the run out of isolation rooms.

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Dr Sara Ho, the Hospital Authority’s chief manager of patient safety and risk management, said:  “We’re indeed very worried that the situation will worsen. No matter how hard we’re trying to have more isolation beds, we probably cannot meet the growing demand.”

As of Mar 29, there were 540 patients under isolation, while 118 have been discharged after treatment. On this day alone, 204 new admissions were reported.

Residents found ill on arrival, or shortly after arrival, in Hong Kong, make up the bulk of the newly confirmed cases.

On Mar 28, 47 had traveled during the incubation period, and 26 were overseas students in the U.K.

A big number of the students did not show symptoms, prompting health officials to start testing all new arrivals, including those who are asymptomatic, from Mar 29.

All new arrivals will be provided with specimen collection containers which they are encouraged to submit immediately to the testing center at Asia World-Expo. Those who prefer to go into home quarantine immediately are advised to get family members or friends submit their specimen immediately.


Among the returning students from the U.K. is a 14-year-old teenage male who is believed to have transmitted the virus to his parents and a brother. They all returned positive results in the first tests. Another 3 preliminary cases are airline crew members.
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