HK limits public gatherings to 4 people as 65 new Covid-19 cases recorded

By The SUN

CE Lam making the announcement at press briefing

Hong Kong has decreed that no more than 4 people can gather in public places, both indoors and outdoors, as part of the toughest restrictions it has introduced so far to halt the spread of the coronavirus disease.

Chief Executive Carrie Lam announced the new measures Friday night, after the city’s health officials reported a record 65 new cases of Covid-19 infections.

The measures, adopted following a meeting of the Executive Council, will take effect for two weeks from Sunday, Mar 29. Offenders face up to six months in prison, and a maximum fine of $25,000.

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The 4-people rule will apply even in restaurants, which are also required to take in only half their previous seating capacity. A maximum of four people will be allowed to dine together, at tables that should be at least 1.5 meters apart.

Diners will be required to wear face masks which they can remove only while eating. Restaurants should check customers’ body temperature, and provide them with hand sanitizers.

However, the restriction will not apply to private homes and offices, public transport, the courts, government buildings, Legislative Council and District Board meetings, plus weddings and funerals.\

Big gatherings like this one in Central will be forbidden from Sunday

As part of the new restrictions, the government has also ordered the closure from 6pm tomorrow, Saturday, of public places that attract large crowds, including cinemas, gaming centers, saunas, fitness centres, party rooms and pool halls.

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The clampdown comes as the city recorded its highest-ever daily tally of Covid-19 cases.

Most of the new cases involved residents with recent travel history, but a significant number also came from a cluster infection in bars, and a gathering at a party place that drew in around 100 people.

Lam said the total number of cases have shot up to 518, a threefold increase from the 138 recorded two weeks ago.

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“Many of the infected people went to bars, weddings and private parties, which we categorise as social interactions,” she said.

But the top official dropped her proposal to stop restaurants and bars from selling alcohol, a move deemed insufficient by her advisers, but sweeping by industry leaders.

Officials speak with the government's new slogan as backdrop

The government unveiled a new slogan for the crisis at the press briefing: “Stay home, keep safe.”

Also at the briefing was Health Secretary Sophia Chan, who announced that all new arrivals will now be tested for the virus.

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Each arriving passenger will be given a bottle for specimen sample which they can deliver straight to the testing facility at AsiaWorld-Expo, or ask their relatives to submit, as they will have to start their 14-day home quarantine.

Secretary for Security John Lee, meanwhile, reported that police had caught 77 people who violated their quarantine orders to isolate. Around 40 of the offenders were reported by the public to the police.

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FDWs urged to stay home; bosses told not to make them work on rest day

By Daisy CL Mandap

Photo taken Mar 22 shows OFWs gathering in large numbers in Central amid the worsening contagion

Hong Kong’s Labour Department has repeated an advisory to all foreign domestic workers to stay at home on their rest days, and if they do decide to go out, to refrain from gathering in public places.

But this time around, the advisory issued today, Mar 27, was balanced with a warning to employers not to make their helpers work on their day off, or they could be prosecuted and fined up to $50,000.

The advisory was further tempered with an advice for the workers to discuss rest day arrangements with their employers, including choosing a day other than Sunday, when most FDWs traditionally gather, to go out.

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Employers, on the other hand, are urged to explain the special circumstances for making an alternative arrangement when discussing rest days with their helpers.

The advisory further states that if the employers ask their helpers to work on a rest day, a substitute day-off must be designated within 30 days. The employer must also notify the helper of the arrangement within 48 hours after work.

A previous advisory that asked FDWs straight out not to go out on their rest day to avoid contracting the coronavirus disease, was widely criticized by migrant organizations as discriminatory.

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The new toned-down version was issued as the Hong Kong government imposed new restrictions on public gatherings to arrest an alarming spike in the number of new Covid-19 infections.

Health officials said that a record 65 new cases were recorded today, the highest daily tally since the outbreak began in Hong Kong in late January.

As part of the new containment measures, no more than four people can gather together in public, including when eating in a restaurant, while places that attract large gatherings like cinemas, gyms and gaming centers, will be closed for two weeks.

 

No more than 4 people can gather together in public places starting this weekend

Consul General Raly Tejada has issued a similar call a day earlier, advising Filipino migrant workers to stay at home as much as possible, but stopped short of asking them not to go out on their rest day.

The statement posted in the Consulate’s Facebook page said, “Due to the recent surge in Covid-19 cases in Hong Kong, the Philippine Consulate General appeals to the Filipino community to stay at home whenever possible and if there is a need to go out, to make sure to avoid crowded places and practice social distancing. We also ask employers to respect the rest day of domestic workers who choose to stay at home.”

ConGen Tejada told The SUN earlier that he was bothered to see so many Filipinos still gathered together last Sunday, Mar 22, despite the escalating rate of infection in Hong Kong.

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Dolores Balladares, chairperson of United Filipinos-Migrante Hong Kong, says her group appreciates that the Labour Department has taken pains to tone down its advisory this time.

She said this should be the right approach because migrant workers realize the severity of the contagion, and are willing to make their own sacrifices for the community.

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“Migrant workers are aware of the problem, and are compliant with the advice on how they can protect themselves and other people from catching the virus,” Balladares said. “Lagi silang naka-mask at hindi na nag-iipon ipon, o nagsasalo sa pagkain.”

On top of this, she said nearly all migrant workers have hand sanitizers and alcohol in their handbags to better protect themselves from contamination.

She said her group is willing to cooperate with the government in preventing the spread of the virus, and will advise members to comply with their employers’ request to stay indoors, unless they really have to go out. 

Those who will find it necessary to go out this Sunday will be advised about the new social distancing restrictions.

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19 new bar-related cases as HK records highest daily Covid-19 tally

By The SUN

Insomnia is where a majority of the 27 linked cases have been traced

Hong Kong today (Mar 27) reported a record 65 new cases of Covid-19, with 19 of them being linked to an outbreak in four bars where nearly all of the performers are Filipinos.

Officials of Hong Kong’s Center for Health Protection told a news conference today that most of the new cases, or a total of 41, had recent travel history. The rest are locally acquired. A further 15 cases reportedly yielded preliminary positive results for the disease.

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Of the 19 additional cases linked to the bars, one involved a band member, nine are staff, and another nine are patrons.

The infected staff included two chefs at All Night Long in Tsim Sha Tsui and a DJ in Insomnia in Lan Kwai Fong in Central. The rest are either staff or food servers at the two other bars, Dusk till Dawn and Centre Stage in Wanchai.

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CHP’s head of the communicable disease branch Dr Chuang Shuk-kwan said all the bars have already been shut because all their staff members have been quarantined.

An interview by The SUN, however, showed that the bars were closed down as soon as the first infected case, a vocalist who performed regularly in Insomnia, was reported on Mar 23.

Two other bars, Centre Stage and Dusk till Dawn in Wanchai, have also been shut

A total of 124 people reportedly worked in the four bars operated by one company, which also hired the musicians from nine bands who played at the venues, most of them Filipinos. Outside sources have identified the company as Step by Step.

Chuang said that so far 27 staff, including musicians, have already tested positive, along with 16 patrons. Some developed symptoms while under home quarantine.

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She said the friends and other close contacts of those who worked in the bars are being sought, and may be quarantined if necessary. 

Asked if the bar cluster amounted to a community outbreak, Chuang said community infection has definitely occurred, “but not to the extent of a community outbreak.”

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She said most of the locally acquired cases have epidemiological link to previous cases, and only 1 or 2 cannot be traced to a known source.

Chuang also discounted any link between the bar cluster and Filipino domestic workers who have been infected, citing interviews that showed no interaction between the two sets of cases.

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OFWs hit by pandemic to get US$200 cash aid, says Dole

By The SUN

OFWs line up by the hundreds at the PCG for services amid the pandemic

Overseas Filipino workers who are eagerly looking forward to a US$200 cash assistance from the Department of Labor and Employment for those “displaced” by the coronavirus pandemic should not rejoice this early.

That’s because Dole has yet to issue the guidelines for the financial aid, announced on Mar 25 by Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III.

According to Secretary Bello, the cash assistance will be given to about 70,000 OFWs whose works were disrupted by the Covid-19 pandemic. However, he did not specify the kind of disruption that would entitle an OFW to the doleout.

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Welfare officer Virsie Tamayao of the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration in Hong Kong supplied the missing information, saying the money is meant for “medical assistance and after-care needs of discharged Covid-19 patients.”

That clearly left out those wishing to get some help after they lost their jobs because of the coronavirus outbreak, or had to go without pay for weeks when they got stranded in the Philippines because of the government’s travel ban to Hong Kong.

Dolores Balladares, chairperson of United Filipinos-Migrante Hong Kong said the idea of giving financial help is good because it is timely.

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“Ok naman ito sa temporary relief, pero ang tanong, me guidelines na ba? Paano makukuha, sino ang qualified? Dyan lagi nagkakatalo. In the end, may inilabas ngang pera pero hindi naman napakinabangan ng mas maraming affected,” said Balladares.

She suggested that the process for claiming the aid be made easier, and the requirements fewer. But ultimately, she said what OFWs need is help in the longer term, like being given a job that will sustain their family.

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Balladares also cast doubt on the number of OFWs that are supposed to benefit from the scheme.

“Kasi noon pa man, ang mga biktima ng virus sa luxury cruise liners di naman nabigyan ng konkretong tulong,” she said.

 

Balladares says clear guidelines should be issued for those who want to apply for the cash aid

To avail of aid under the program, OFWs must submit their certificate of employment issued by their agencies. Their application will be evaluated and processed by Polo in the place where they are based, or if they are in the Philippines, at the nearest OWWA regional office.

In the Philippines, Bello said about 212,718 workers have lost their jobs due to the rapidly spreading Covid-19 pandemic in the country.

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“Now, of the total Php1.5 billion available assistance package of the Department, we have initially released Php35 million to affected workers, both those in the formal and informal sectors,” he added.

He said Dole is now fast-tracking the processing of requirements submitted by companies in order to immediately provide assistance to affected employees.

“We hope to cover at least 50% of those affected by next week,” Bello added.

Bello also urged privately-owned companies to apply to Dole’s Covid-19 Adjustment Measure Program, which offers a one-time Php5,000 financial support for those that have adopted flexible work arrangements, or have temporarily closed due to the pandemic.

“To avail of the assistance, employers must submit their company payroll for February or earlier, which is before the implementation of flexible working arrangements or temporary closure,” he said.

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