HK may stop home quarantine for OFWs as woman arrives with virus from Mla

By The SUN

Today's case is the 7th case in a week of someone arriving from Manila with the coronavirus 

A 39-year-old woman who just arrived from Manila tested positive for Covid-19 today, Jun 27, becoming Hong Kong’s 1,197^th case.

Records from the Centre for Health Protection shows the woman, likely a domestic worker, had stayed in the Philippines from Dec 23 last year until she arrived in Hong Kong yesterday.

She was taken directly from the AsiaWorld-Expo testing center to Princess Margaret Hospital in Kowloon for treatment. She was asymptomatic.

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The new patient is the seventh new arrival from the Philippines who tested positive in Hong Kong within the past week alone. Most of them were apparently FDWs as they didn’t have any listed address in the city.

But many of the new imported cases in Hong Kong involve residents arriving from Pakistan. In one day alone last week, 29 new arrivals from Pakistan were found infected, and two days later, 16 others also tested positive.

The big number of infected patients who test positive on arrival from Pakistan, India and Bangladesh has prompted the Hong Kong government to put them in quarantine centers pending the result of their Covid-19 tests.

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In the case of Filipino migrant workers, however, the practice has been to let them spend home quarantine with their employers. 

But with the recent spike in the number of newly arrived overseas Filipino workers who test positive on arrival, the government now says it may stop employers allowing the helpers to spend their quarantine in their homes.

Home quarantine rules: Filipino DHs may soon not be allowed to do this anymore

Secretary for Labour and Welfare Law Chi-kwong said in an interview with reporters today that his office is in talks with the Department of Health to add a condition to the quarantine orders for FDWs that they are not suitable for home quarantine.

“Because we have seen in the last month, Hongkongers coming back from the Philippines have a 0.65 per cent infection rate,” he said.

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Using employment agency estimates that up to 10,000 domestic workers might arrive from the Philippines in the next few weeks, Law said that could mean an additional 65 new infections among them.

“If they are to be quarantined at home, then there will be a pretty high chance of them spreading the virus in the community,” Law said, but did not make reference to pre-quarantine tests made at the airport, which led to the early detection of cases among the new arrivals from Manila.

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Law ruled out putting up the migrant workers in quarantine centers, as what a group of employment agencies suggested last week. He said there will not be enough room in the quarantine facilities, but the Labour Department would provide employers with information on cheap hotels.

At present, Hong Kong has three quarantine centers which could accommodate up to 2,323 people, but this number will soon be reduced by more than half as the largest facility, the Chun Yeung public housing estate in Fo Tan, will stop operating as such in July.

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HK does not want more FDHs to come during pandemic, says labor chief

By Daisy CL Mandap

Law says HK is limiting the number of migrant workers entering HK during the pandemic

Hong Kong’s Secretary for Labour and Welfare, Law Chi-kwong, has said the government wants to restrict the entry of foreign domestic workers into Hong Kong in the time of the pandemic.

Law made the statement in response to questions from reporters as to why the government does not want to provide quarantine facilities for FDWs arriving in Hong Kong, or help employers pay for the cost of an alternative place for them to stay.

“I can say that we really want to help, but any way which would encourage directly or indirectly the movement of domestic helpers from Hong Kong to their homeland or from their homeland back to Hong Kong is not consistent with our policy to restrict such movement to reduce the risk of spread of the virus,” said Law.

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His statement doused the hopes of about 10,000 Filipino migrant workers who have been on standby in the Philippines for months, hoping for a signal that the Hong Kong government would help ease their re-entry into the city.

The biggest hindrance is the high cost of the 14-day quarantine that they would be required to undergo on their arrival in Hong Kong.

Many employers balk at allowing them to spend the quarantine in their tiny homes, but are unwilling to pay for the cost of alternative accommodation and food during the quarantine. Estimates of a hotel quarantine, without the food, range between $4,000 and $8,000.

More than 100 OFWs flew out of HK earlier this month. Will they be able to come back?

Employment agencies have urged the government to set up a centralized quarantine facility for all incoming FDHs, while New Party legislator Eunice Yung has asked for subsidy to be extended to employers who put up their maids in hotels.

It now appears the government is not keen to adopt either option because it does not want the usual number of FDWs to enter Hong Kong while it is still dealing with the coronavirus contagion.

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Law said that what the government has done so far, in fact, is to minimize the entry of FDWs into the city. This was the reason it has allowed those who are already in Hong Kong to extend their contracts, those who have finished their contracts to find new a new employer without leaving the city, or extend the visa of those who are in-between contracts.

“These are the policy strategies that try to restrict the movement of domestic helpers from Hong Kong to and from their homeland,” he added. “Any other measures, although we would like to help, if that would encourage such movement, that would be inconsistent with our anti-epidemic measures.

Instead, he said employers should consider helping FDWs who are already in Hong Kong to continue to stay by extending their contract. Employment agencies could also help by securing new employment for those who have completed their previous contract.

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But it would appear the more relaxed visa policy does not extend to those who have been terminated or have broken their contracts, except those who fall under exceptional circumstances, like if the reason is due to the employer’s relocation, or financial difficulty.

Those who are terminated for other reasons will be allowed to extend their stay while looking for new employment, but will still have to return home and wait for their new visa there.

Secretary Law and Congen Tejada in a meeting last February

This was despite an appeal made by Consul General Raly Tejada last Wednesday, June 24, for the more relaxed visa policy to extend to all whose contracts have been prematurely cut for whatever reason.

According to Congen Tejada, Immigration only assured him that those who finished their contracts and have changed employers will be allowed to stay and take up their new employment.

“What they said it that they will consider requests by employees who have finished their contracts and transferring to new employers to remain in Hong Kong on a ‘case to case basis,”, said Congen Tejada.

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“It is imperative that they present themselves to Immigration accompanied by their new employers so that they may present their case. I believe the commitment of the employer to take responsibility will be crucial here as determined by immigration officials.”

Congen said he realized the commitment does not differ much from the existing policy, but said it was “better than nothing.” He also pledged to continue discussing with Immigration further on the issue, as these are “unprecedented times.”

During his interview, Law said that during normal times, around 500 FDWs come into Hong Kong on a daily basis. But because of the entry restrictions taken by the government, the number of Filipino DHs who have entered Hong Kong in the past month had been reduced to only 1,7000.

He added: “But if we provide such facilitation that directly or indirectly encourages them to come, that number will jump up very quickly. Every day we will have about two to three flights from Manila. We would expect 500 of them every day. Within 14 days, we would have 7,000. That is a very large number. We would not have sufficient quarantine facilities to house this group of people just from the Philippines. This is the concern. The primary consideration is our anti-epidemic strategies to help or protect our citizens in Hong Kong.”

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Lawmaker urges govt to help employers pay for helper’s quarantine

By The SUN

 

Yung held a press conference to call  on government to help foot the bill for the helpers' quarantine 

New People’s Party lawmaker Eunice Yung has called on the government to put foreign domestic workers who will be arriving over the next few months in hotels, and help their employers pay for the cost.

Yung said more than 12,000 FDWs are expected to arrive in Hong Kong shortly, after being stranded in their home countries for months because of travel restrictions.

This could potentially cause a huge problem as many employers are not in a position to offer them space in their tiny homes for the mandatory quarantine.

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“If the employers wish to ask for the quarantine arrangement, they have to pay for around $6,000 for the hotel fees, so I think the government should step in and give subsidies to the employers,” Yung said.

She also asked the government to help pay for the costs of testing FDWs for Covid-19, saying employers have complained about paying between $800 to $3,000 for each test.

Her call differed slightly from a proposal announced recently by a group of employment agencies, which urged the government to set up a quarantine center for all arriving FDWs.

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The Hong Kong Union of Employment Agencies said in a press conference on Jun 14 that the government must act now to prepare for the influx of thousands of helpers in the coming months.

HKUEA chairman Thomas Chan said the call was the first in a series of activities the union was planning to get the government to act on its proposal.

He said the centralized quarantine center should be located far from populous areas to avoid the risk of a contagion in case anyone among the new arrivals had the virus.

 

Agencies want the migrant workers put in a remote quarantine center like the Lady Maclehose holiday village

There has been no response from the government so far.

In the meantime, many FDWs about to fly into Hong Kong have been posting online about various problems they face on their arrival, with many saying their employers are refusing to pay for all, or some, of their quarantine expenses.

At least three had to be fed by volunteers from the Filipino community when they appealed online for food donations, saying their employers did not make arrangements for their meals while under quarantine, although they did pay for their hotel rooms.

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But this shouldn’t be the case. When mandatory home quarantine was imposed on all passengers arriving in Hong Kong on Mar 19, the Labour Department immediately made it clear that employers should open their homes to their domestic helpers who need to self-quarantine for 14 days.

If the employers choose another place for the quarantine such as a hotel, they should pay for the accommodation, and provide the helper with a food allowance for her meals during the entire 14-day stay.

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The government press release said: “The employer is also reminded to comply with his/her obligations under the SEC (standard employment contract), including bearing the accommodation expenses of the FDH and providing food allowance to the FDH.”

Earlier, on Mar 17, he Philippine Overseas Labor Office issued an advisory to all employment agencies, saying the same thing: that employers should provide for all the needs of their helpers during the quarantine period.

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DH accused of theft claims she lost money in employer’s house

By Vir B. Lumicao

The accused maid said in court that she herself lost money in her employer's  house

A Filipina domestic helper accused of stealing 1,700 renminbi from her female employer in December 2018 said she herself lost $1,500 that she kept in her bag inside the employer’s house in Mid-Levels.

Giving evidence on the second day of a retrial of her case in Eastern Court today, Jun 26, Ana Liezel Berbana said she had saved the money to buy presents before going home that month for an elder sister’s wedding.

The 35-year-old defendant said during questioning by her counsel Philip Ross that the money was still in the bag when she last checked it on Dec 10, 2018.

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She said she had kept her bag in the house of her employer, Wong Ma-nger, on Caine Road in Mid-Levels. “I found out I lost my money on the 20^th, but on Dec 17 it was still in the bag,” she said.

Berbana, a farmer’s single daughter who finished one semester in a BS Nursing course, came to Hong Kong to work for Wong and her family on Aug 21, 2015.

Previously, she worked for two years as a domestic worker in Jordan, and then as a tutor and later, teaching assistant in the United Arab Emirates.   

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Through Ross’ questioning, the defendant described a working relationship with the Wongs in which she served six adults including the employer’s elder son Ming and his wife Victoria, the younger son Wesley and his girlfriend Ellen.

Berbana said Ming and Victoria moved out of the parents’ Caine Rd house to a flat on Conduit Rd, also in Mid-Levels, when Victoria was pregnant. They returned to Wong’s house after the baby was born so the grandmother could help look after the baby.

Ming and his family moved back to the Conduit Rd flat when a nanny they hired arrived, but the defendant was still ordered to go there every day to clean the house and help nurse the baby.

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On Nov 16, 2016, she said her relations with Wesley soured when he asked her about a Hermes scarf that his girlfriend Ellen had left in the Conduit Rd and allegedly went missing.

In March the next year, Wesley again asked Berbana about a blue dress that Ellen could not find. He brought up the blue dress again in August of 2018, and this time, accused her of stealing it. 

The employer’s son also allegedly accused her of stealing money from his father.

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Berbana denied in court that she stole all the items Wesley accused her of taking.

At her lawyer’s questioning, she also denied charges that she stole Rmb1,700 from Wong on Dec 21, 2018.

Berbana said Wong agreed to pay all her Labour Tribunal claims after the presiding officer foiled the employer’s insistence to deduct $4,000 for a loan she supposedly made to the helper.

Despite this, Berbana said her former employer filed a claim against her at the Small Claims Tribunal to claim back the $4,000.

Ross had accused Wong during cross examination of  “stealing” from the maid by deducting $4,000 from her Labour Tribunal settlement.   

Also giving evidence before Berbana took the stand were two male police officers who searched her belongings and arrested her on the night of Dec 21, 2018 after Wong reported the alleged theft.

The officers testified finding the missing money from Berbana’s black jacket that had been hanging on a rod in her room.

The prosecutor began her cross-examination of the defendant by asking her why she had vivid details of the police search of her jacket. The maid appeared unprepared for the question, with the prosecutor saying twice that she didn’t answer the question.

The trial will resume on Jul 23.

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Woman who flew in from Manila among 14 new imported cases in HK

By The SUN

The CHP disclosed the 14 new cases today, all of them imported

A 38-year-old woman who arrived in Hong Kong from Manila was among 14 new cases reported today, Jun 25, by health authorities. 

She was said to be asymptomatic, but was transferred to Prince of Wales Hospital in Shatin for isolation and treatment.

Of the new cases, 12 were returning residents from Pakistan while one flew in from India.

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They were all transferred to hospitals from quarantine centers, except for the woman who had flown in from Manila, who was moved from Regal Oriental Hotel in Kowloon where she was temporarily quarantined while waiting for her test results.

Records published by the Centre for Health Protection showed the woman had been in the Philippines from Mar 14 until she flew to Hong Kong yesterday.

No nationality was mentioned, but it would appear she is a Filipina, most likely a migrant worker, who got caught in the hard lockdown imposed by the Philippine government on Metro Manila starting Mar 16.

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The new cases, aged between 2 and 39, brought Hong Kong’s total tally to 1,193 with one probable case.

The death toll rose to seven today, with a 55-year-old man who was airlifted from Manila on Jun 23 becoming the latest fatality.

The CHP says it is continuing its epidemiological investigations and relevant contact tracing on the confirmed cases.

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The public is again warned to maintain good personal hygiene, keep social distancing and avoid going out and taking part in meal gatherings to reduce the risk of community transmission.

The CHP warning mentioned in particular infected persons who may not show symptoms, but could be highly contagious.

With the global tally for the coronavirus now nearing 10 million, people in Hong Kong are also advised to avoid unnecessary travel.

Those who want to know more about the coronavirus situation in Hong Kong may check out the latest information at www.coronavirus.gov.hk or by calling the Covid-19 WhatsApp helpline, 96171823.

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Man who flew in sick from Manila becomes HK’s 7th coronavirus fatality

By The SUN 

The man died at Princess Margaret Hospital two days after being airlifted to HK from Manila

UPDATED: 

A 55-year-old man who flew into Hong Kong from Manila aboard an air ambulance two days ago died early this morning, Jun 25. 

Consul General Raly Tejada said the patient was not a Filipino, though he reportedly arrived in the Philippines days earlier.

That would have made the patient either a permanent resident in the Philippines, or married to a Filipino, as they are the only non-citizens allowed to get into the country as part of coronavirus-related  travel restrictions.

His death was announced by a spokesman for the Princess Margaret Hospital in Kowloon through a government press release.

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According to the hospital’s statement, the patient, identified as patient 1180, suffered from stroke in Philippines and was admitted to a hospital there at the end of May.

“He was escorted back to Hong Kong by air ambulance and was admitted to PMH on June 23. He ran a high fever on admission and was in serious condition.  He was subsequently tested positive for COVID-19. His condition later deteriorated and developed severe sepsis. The patient further ran a downhill course and eventually succumbed at 1.30am today,” said the statement.

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The hospital said it was saddened by the man’s death, and would offer necessary assistance to his family.

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The patient was the third to die in public hospitals in the past five days. The fifth and sixth fatalities, who died on Jun 20 and 23, respectively, both lived in an infected housing block in Lek Yue estate in Shatin.

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Lawyer turns table on employer who had her DH convicted of theft

By Vir B. Lumicao

The employer was accused of 'stealing' the $4k awarded by the Labour Tribunal to her helper

A female employer who caused her Filipino maid to be convicted of stealing 1,700 renminbi in December 2018, was herself accused of owing $4,000 from the helper during a retrial of the case in Eastern Court today, Jun 24.

The two-day retrial of Ana Liezel Berbana, 34, got under way before Magistrate Philip Chan six months after a High Court judge set aside her conviction for theft in the Eastern magistracy.

Employer Wong Ma-nger, who was the prosecution’s principal witness, came under intense questioning from defense counsel Philip Ross during cross-examination.

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Wong said Berbana was on her second contract when the alleged theft happened on Dec 21, 2018.  

She said she put in an envelope 4,000 renminbi in 40 Rmb100 banknotes that her elder son Ming lent her on Dec 20, and kept the cash in a black shoulder bag that she left on her desk. Before this, she asked her son to photocopy the banknotes.

Wong said she checked the money twice in the afternoon the next day but did not count the bills. But at about 6:30 pm that day, she counted the money again and noticed that 17 renminbi bills were gone.

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Wong said she asked Berbana about the missing cash but the maid said she knew nothing about it.

The employer reported the matter to the police around 10pm that same night and the maid was arrested after the money was found in a black jacket that she had hung on a rod. 

Ross asked Wong why she did not lock up the money in the safe, and the employer replied she did not expect it would be stolen. The lawyer then asked why she had photocopied the bills if she did not intend to bait her maid.

 

The employer said she had the missing renminbi notes photocopied before putting them away

He proceeded to ask Wong about whether she had properties. The employer said that had nothing to do with the case, but Ross insisted it could have.

Magistrate Chan said the question was valid, so Wong admitted she has properties, seven residential flats and one commercial unit.

During a 10-minute morning break, Wong spoke to her husband who was waiting outside the courtroom despite her still being under oath as a witness.

Ross disclosed this in court after the break and the surprised magistrate took note of it.

The lawyer then pointed out that contrary to their employment contract, Wong made Berbana work for six adults and take care of a baby.

Wong said that was before her elder son Ming and his wife Victoria moved out of her flat on Conduit Road because the wife was about to give birth.

Ross said at that time, Wong sent Berbana to work for her son’s family as well to clean the house and take care of the baby. At this point, the prosecutor warned Wong she had the right not to answer a question that could incriminate her. Chan sustained her.

The lawyer put the pressure further on Wong when he raised the Labour Tribunal case the helper filed against the employer after her conviction. He said she did not pay the maid despite the tribunal awarding the claims.

Ross said Wong paid only $310 as she deducted a $4,000 loan Berbana supposedly took from her. The defense lawyer put it to Wong she stole $4,000 from the maid because there was no receipt for the loan.

He said the employer made it appear that the loan was realized even though, before the renminbi went missing, she told the maid she could not act on her loan request because she would first ask the “boss”, her husband.  

The trial continues on Friday, with the arresting officers and Berbana due to give evidence.

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