Search on for 2 Covid-19 positive Filipino sailors, but arrest not likely

By Daisy CL Mandap

The 2 missing seafarers flew separately to HK from Manila on Jul 24

Hong Kong health officials say they have enlisted the help of the police and Immigration Department in locating two Filipino sailors who could not be contacted after testing positive for Covid-19 on arrival at the airport on Jul 24.

Dr Chuang Shuk-kwan said at the press briefing today, Jul 31, that the sailors may have already left Hong Kong.

She identified them as cases no 2336 and 2251, and their vessel as Gulf Fanatic.

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CHP records show that Case 2336 is a 46-year-old male who arrived in Hong Kong from Manila on Jul 24 via Hongkong Airlines Flight HX 782.

Case No 2251, on the other hand, is a 37-year-old male who arrived from Manila on the same day via Cathay Pacific Flight CX 906.

“We have not located the seafarers yet, maybe they have left Hong Kong,” Chuang said. “But we will check with Immigration Department.”

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Despite the effort to track them down, it is not likely that the missing sailors will be arrested as the law only punishes people who violate quarantine rules, and no

t for disappearing prior to being transferred to an isolation facility.

This apparent loophole was shown in the case of a 37-year-old local woman who reportedly left her house in Homantin to go shopping, while waiting to be transferred to a hospital after testing positive for Covid-19.

Her case also highlighted the long wait for hospital faced by those who test positive, amid record rises in infections.

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For the past few days, more than 100 confirmed or preliminary positive cases have been told to stay at  home while waiting for isolation beds to be cleared for them.

A reporter at the press briefing said the police did not arrest the errant patient, but merely booked the incident under “miscellaneous cases.”

Chuang said they needed to find out more about the case, but the information they got was the woman had gone out to buy stuff to prepare for her hospital stay.

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“We advise confirmed cases that while waiting to be admitted they should not go out,” said Chuang.

But she said the laws only prohibit those under quarantine from going out. “Before they are admitted we don’t have any laws that will bind them.”

That’s because ideally, patients who are confirmed to have the coronavirus must be admitted to hospital as soon as possible, she said.

Still, she said confirmed patients must not go out so as not to endanger the safety of the public.

 

Dr Chuang says all infected patients must be isolated to protect public health safety 

As for the Filipino sailors, the samples they left at the AsiaWorld-Expo testing site on arrival tested positive the next day, but they could no longer be located.

Another sailor from India who tested positive on the same day was tracked and transferred to Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Yau Ma Tei.

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Hong Kong health protocols used to exempt all air and sea crew from the mandatory testing at the airport, and from the 14-day quarantine, as they often are in the city for only a short period of time.

But since the restrictions were tightened on Jul 8 amid a surge in infections, they have all been required to leave saliva samples at the airport, before heading off to their quarantine facilities or ships.

This has led to a small number of seafarers disappearing from Hong Kong’s radar after the samples they left at the airport tested positive for Covid-19.

Rules were tightened further starting Jul 29, when air and sea crew who get tested at the airport are prohibited from taking public transportation, or mingling with the public until they return a negative result.

Non-Hong Kong based air crew members are also made to wait for their test result at AsiaWorld-Expo, and could only proceed to their isolation facilities if they test negative.

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121 more Covid-19 cases reported today, including 1 Filipino DH

By The SUN

The Filipina DH tested positive, despite submitting a negative result for Covid-19 prior to boarding her flight from Manila (File photo)

Another 121 new Covid-19 cases were reported in Hong Kong today, Jul 31, the 10^th straight day that the number of infections reported in a day exceeded 100. The city’s total tally now stands at 3,272.

Citing the recent surge in cases as reason, Chief Executive Carrie Lam announced tonight that the legislative council slated for Sept 6 will be postponed for a year. She said the “epidemic is at its worst," making it difficult to hold the elections without endangering public safety.

Of the new cases reported today, all except three, were local transmissions. The imported cases include a Filipina domestic worker who tested positive on arrival, despite the pro-boarding requirement in Manila that she should show a negative test result for Covid-19.

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The two others were a seafarer from India and a businessman from Mexico.

Dr Chuang Shuk-kwan of the Centre for Health Protection said that about half, or 62 of the new local cases, have links to previous infections, while the sources for the 61 others are unknown. The linked cases included 48 that spread among family members and friends.

Hospital Authority’s Sara Ho reported two more deaths, again involving elderly patients, that raised the death toll to 27.

 

The latest fatality from Covid-19 was declared dead this morning at Queen Mary Hospital

One was a 91-year-old man who passed away at 11:34 am at Queen Mary Hospital in Pokfulam. The patient, who was a resident at the virus-plagued Kong Tai Care for the Aged Centre in Tsz Wan Shan, had long-term illnesses and was admitted on Jul 10.

Earlier, at 12:18 am, an 82-year-old woman who also had chronic diseases, passed on at Tuen Mun Hospital. She was admitted on Jul 26 due to fever, and her condition deteriorated after testing positive for the coronavirus disease.

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Dr Chuang listed among today’s notable cases an emerging cluster in a direct marketing company called Star Global, with offices at Kin-on Mansion on Argyle Street in Kowloon. Four more infections were recorded today, on top of two previously confirmed. Five other people have tested preliminary positive.

She said the basement office is engaged in the direct selling of cosmetics and wine, and has enough room for training 100 in direct selling. The police are helping health authorities in tracking down close contacts of the infected people.

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Two cases were also included in the cluster involving staff of Metro Radio which has offices in Whampoa. There are now a total of eight people linked to the office.

At Cornwall elderly home in Tuen Mun which has already about 20 confirmed cases, three more patients tested positive today.

There was another case linked to the Tao Heung restaurant at Grand Plaza in Mong Kok, and another to the Kin Shing contractors in Kwun Tong.

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Among the preliminary positive cases is a resident at an elderly home in Fanling, and an employee at Caritas Evergreen Home in Sai Ying Pun.

A couple of patients testing positive after being put in general wards were also reported today, including one at Queen Elizabeth, another at Princess Margaret, and at Tuen Mun Hospital. The patients’ close contacts have been put under quarantine while under observation.

Dr Ho said the community isolation facility at AsiaWorld-Expo near the airport will start accepting patients from tomorrow to free up isolation beds in hospitals that have reached capacity. 

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She said a few patients who are younger and have mild to no symptoms will be sent there initially, with the transfer being ramped up gradually. Up to 500 patients could be accommodated in the new facility.

She has said that the surge in cases has left up to 200 confirmed or preliminary positive patients waiting to be admitted to hospitals.

This was even after around 300 patients were moved from isolation rooms to tier-2 beds in isolation wards, and a further 100 recovering patients to the isolation facility in Lei Yue Mun.

Today, 91 patients were discharged from hospitals, raising the total number of recoveries to 1,751.

A total of 1,187 patients are still in 15 public hospitals, 43 of them critical, 39 serious,  and 1,105 in stable condition.

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Strong Wind Signal No 3 hoisted

By The SUN

Overcast sky over Shing Mun River in Shatin

Strong Wind Signal No. 3 was hoisted by the Hong Kong Observatory at 8:40pm tonight, Jul 31, as a tropical cyclone appears to be developing over the South China Sea.

Winds with mean speeds of 41 to 62 kilometers per hour are expected, prompting the Observatory to advise residents to make sure objects that are likely to be blown away are securely fastened or taken indoors.

The weather bureau also advised people to stay away from the shoreline and not to engage in water sports.

The cloudy weather is expected to continue throughout the weekend.

There will be a few squally thunderstorms tomorrow, with showers that could become heavy at times. Temperatures will range between 26 and 29 degrees Celsius. 

For Sunday, more occasional heavy showers and squally thunderstorms are forecast, to be followed by showers in the next couple of days.

‘Unhappy’ Filipina falls to death in Yau Ma Tei, police say

By The SUN

The building where the Filipina lived with her employers.

A Filipina domestic worker was found dead on Wednesday morning, Jul 29, on a street in Yaumatei after a fatal fall, police have confirmed.

A passerby found the body of the 46-year-old on the pavement below No.3 Nanking St and notified the police at 6:27am, a police spokeswoman told The SUN.

She said the Filipina was unconscious when she was taken by an ambulance to nearby Queen Elizabeth Hospital where she was certified dead.

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No suicide note was found and there were no suspicious circumstances, the officer said.

But she added, “So far, the police have gathered that the victim was unhappy about some life matters.”

The victim, H.P., was a native of Aklan province, and had worked for her employer for close to 12 years.  She apparently fell off  the employer's flat in Hong Kiu Mansion at the corner of Nathan Road and Nanking St.

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This was according to her niece who contacted The SUN yesterday, to ask for more information about the case.

The niece confirmed that the victim had been worried about “something” for about two weeks, and had arranged to meet with a cousin who is also working in Hong Kong to discuss the problem.

“Hindi lang po namin alam bakit nauwi sa ganun. Dahil makikipagkita pa po dapat sa Linggo ang tita ko sa pinsan niya diyan sa Hong Kong,” the niece said.
(We don't know why it led to this. My aunt was supposed to meet with her cousin who is there in Hong Kong).

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She also said the deceased had complained about her employer allegedly tracking her  on Facebook so she deactivated her account.

One time, she reportedly sent a message to a friend with the word “tabang” (help in the Visayan language). Alarmed, the friend went to the police to report the incident but when the deceased was contacted, she reportedly said “Ok lang ako”, although she sounded troubled.

The niece said it was impossible for her aunt to be unhappy after being in Hong Kong for more than 11 years. In fact, the victim was reportedly planning to go home for good this coming December when she would have completed 12 years working with her employer.

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She said her family learned about the incident when a friend called the victim on Wednesday morning and it was a police officer who answered the call. The officer reportedly said the victim was in a hospital, then hung up.

“At around 7am din, tumawag ang tita ko na nasa Cavite sa phone ng tita ko sa Hong Kong. Police ang sumagot. Ang sabi nasa hospital daw po,” the niece added.

“Nalaman lang namin ang tungkol sa pagtalon nung tinawagan namin ang employer ng tita ko sa Hong Kong around 3pm.”

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(At around 7am, my aunt who lives in Cavite also called my other aunt (the victim). A police officer answered and said she was in the hospital. We just learned that she apparently jumped when we called my aunt’s employer in Hong Kong around 3pm)

The niece was alarmed about reports that some of people are alleging foul play in the incident, saying their family just wants to know more information about what happened.

She said they had already contacted the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration in Hong Kong, which relayed the same information given by police.

The SUN advised her to coordinate with the assistance to nationals section of the Consulate for repatriation and any other information they want to get from the police.

OWWA's welfare officer Virsie Tamayao confirmed receiving an appeal for assistance from the family of the dead OFW. 

"Upon the request of the family through OWWA home office we have issued a report regarding the death  of (victim). This case was immediately endorsed to ATN as it is being handled by the Yaumatei police station for investigation," said Tamayao.

She said OWWA's usual assistance and intervention will be provided to the victim's family.

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Philippines posts record number of nearly 4,000 new Covid-19 cases

By The SUN

A total of 3,954 new cases were recorded today, taking the country's total tally past China's official record (CNN Phl graphic)

The Philippines has reported its biggest number of single-day coronavirus cases, with 3,954 new infections recorded today, Jul 30.

The new cases brought the country’s overall tally to 89,374, with 1,983 deaths.

The surge in cases came hours before President Rodrigo Duterte is expected to announce  the new quarantine status for virus hotspots Metro Manila and Cebu City, as well as for other areas across the country.

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The Philippines now has more Covid-19 cases than the 84,165 cases reported by China, where the first novel coronavirus outbreak was detected. The Philippines’ 108 million population is barely 1% of China’s population of 1.34 billion.

The Department of Health has attributed the surge in cases to its enhanced testing capability and data reconciliation effort.

Its latest published data show that a total of 1.36 million individuals, or about 1.2% of the population, has so far been tested. These tests yielded a total of 126,484 positive cases, for a positivity rate of 9.3%.

 

Separate data from DoH show that the total positive cases in the country is now 126,484 

However, DoH has always maintained that this other figure of positive infections have yet to be validated because of duplications.

Also according to DoH, a record 38,075 patients were discharged from hospitals today, for a total recovery figure of 65,064.

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With this, the total number of active cases, or those still ill from the coronavirus disease, is now at 22,327.

The DoH said that patients who are asymptomatic or have mild symptoms, and whose onset of illness or specimen collection was more than 14 days ago, shall be tagged as recovered.

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This is reportedly the protocol followed by the United States’ and European Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, as well as by India.

“Current recovery policies now show that at the 10th day of the illness, the risk of transmitting the virus to other people is significantly reduced,” the department said in a statement.

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This deviates from the practice in Hong Kong, however, where a patient is listed as recovered after testing negative for the virus after repeated tests.

Positive cases, whether asymptomatic or not, are immediately taken in for isolation and treated until they return a negative test result.

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This is because local studies have shown that some asymptomatic patients have a high viral load, meaning they are highly contagious, even if they have never shown signs of being sick themselves.

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Swab test requirement forces 3 DHs to delay flights to HK

By Vir B. Lumicao

Adelfa Melosantos takes selfie at the Coast Guard testing center at Palacio de Maynila on Roxas Blvd 

A Filipina helper who is supposed to fly to Hong Kong this Sunday, Aug 2, has had her booking cancelled due to uncertainty over whether her swab test result would be available by then.

Another maid scheduled to fly out Saturday realized she had made an error on her swab test personal information form. She also found out too late that she must have other requirements, such as an overseas employment certificate.

A third who is due to fly out tomorrow could have complied with the pre-boarding requirements, but was just told today that her flight had been cancelled.

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Cel Lazaro, who is supposed to fly to Hong Kong on Sunday to join her new employer, changed her travel plans after the Medical City Hospital on Ortigas Ave, Pasig City, refused to give her the Php8,150 nucleic acid test today, Jul 30.

That’s because the hospital could not guarantee that the test result could be issued by Aug. 1, and have it certified as required, by a Department of Health doctor, so it would be useless to test her today.

Lazaro said the hospital could only issue a test result between three and five days, which will not allow her to meet Hong Kong’s regulation that the swab test must have been carried out no earlier than 72 hours before her flight.

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The new restriction, which took effect on Jul 25, requires all travelers from the Philippines, Indonesia, India, Bangladesh,Nepal, Pakistan and South Africa, to present a negative result from a "nucleic acid" test administered by a laboratory accredited by their respective governments.

The original test result indicating the traveler’s name and identity information (passport or HKID number) should be submitted, along with the laboratory’s accreditation by the government.

On top of this, the traveler must show of a confirmed booking in a Hong Kong hotel for at least 14 days for the mandatory quarantine on arrival.

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But the toughest requirement for most travelers, especially domestic workers who have to travel far to get to Manila international airport, appears to be the 72-hour validity for the test result.

Most hospitals in Manila are unable to release test results earlier than 72 hours, or 3 days, because of heightened demand in the country amid a record rise in the daily Covid-19 tally.

 

An appointment is needed to get a swab test at Makati Med, which can release a result in 1-2 days

The only hospitals who could guarantee a result of between 1-2 days are Makati Medical Center and Chinese General Hospital, but recent reports said it has become difficult to get an appointment for both facilities.

The problem is so severe that some employment agencies in Hong Kong have decided not to deploy workers in the Philippines for a week to test the waters. They have also petitioned Secretary for Food and Health Sophia Chan to extend the required validity for the test to one week.

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Lazaro said her agency in Manila told her to go instead to St. Luke’s Hospital at Bonifacio Global City in Taguig for the test which would have cost Php4,300, but she balked after learning that she couldn’t get the result on time, either.

“Three days din po ang release ng resulta,” she said.

(The result will also take three days)

She said she would have preferred to go to Makati Med, even if it charges Php8,150 for the test. However, her agency told her the hospital no longer provides some of the requirements she needed to show upon check-in.

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Lazaro said the fee was no problem as her new employer had promised to reimburse her for the cost of the test, as well as pay for her 14-day hotel quarantine.

Another helper who is booked on an HK Airlines flight to Hong Kong tomorrow, Jul 31, has bigger problems.

She revealed she was tested on Tuesday, and could have barely made it to boarding time, but her agency informed her today that the flight had been canceled.

That means the money and effort she put into complying with the tough requirements have been put to naught.

The third helper who is due to fly back to Hong Kong Saturday, cancelled her booking with Cathay Pacific after realizing late Wednesday that she mistakenly entered on her swab test form not her passport number but her universal healthcare ID number.

Adelfa Melosantos said she was swabbed for free on Wednesday at the Coast Guard testing center at Palacio de Maynila on Roxas Blvd. Earlier she went to the Chinese General Hospital but was refused. At Makati Med, she was told to get an appointment.

But on her way back to Nueva Ecija after the swab test at Palacio, Melosantos, who will be working for a new employer in Hong Kong, realized it was not her passport number that she had entered on the form.

To complicate things, her agency told her only today that she needed to pay an extra Php14,000, supposedly for an updated OEC, Overseas Workers Welfare Administration membership, medical examination certificate and pre-departure orientation seminar.

After being told at the end of the day about the hiccup, her irate employer told the helper they would just hire a new agency to process her papers.  

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HK hits new daily high of 149 Covid-19 patients

By The SUN

Diners will again be allowed to eat inside restaurants from tomorrow, but only from 5am to 6pm

The number of Covid-19 cases has continued to rise in Hong Kong, with the total tally of 149 today, Jul 30, exceeding all previous records.

It was the ninth straight day that the city recorded more than 100 confirmed cases, pushing the total tally to 3,151.

About a third of the patients are in hospital or isolation facility, while 24 have died.

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Today’s tally included 145 local cases, another record high. Only four came from overseas, reflecting the effectiveness of cross-border restrictions imposed on Jul 25 and 29.

Dr Chuang Shuk-kwan of the Centre for Health Protection said three were seafarers from India whose ships have been quarantined off Lamma island since last week, after six crew members who left saliva samples at the AsiaWorld-Expo site were found infected. 

Chuang said the fourth was a flight crew from the Philippines, the first time there had been such a case in Hong Kong. She gave no details, but a list published in the government website showed she is a 28-year-old female, and has been listed down as case no. 3004. Her airline or the flight she took was not identified.

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The new restrictions that took effect yesterday required all sea and air crew to provide a negative result for a swab test taken within 48 hours of their departure time from their point of origin.

Otherwise, they should undergo testing at AsiaWorld-Expo near the airport. Hong Kong-based crew can leave their test samples, while those based abroad must wait there for their test result.

The rule was imposed after some health experts warned the massive outbreak appear to have been brought in by travelers previously exempted from testing on arrival, and the mandatory 14-day quarantine. Air and sea crew were among those in the exempted list.

An isolation facility at the AsiaWorld-Expo near the airport will start accepting patients from Saturday (File photo)

The new surge in cases has overwhelmed hospitals for the past few days that up to 200 confirmed or preliminary positive patients have been told to remain at home while hospital beds are being freed up for them.

Dr Sara Ho of the Hospital Authority said between 100 and 200 patients are now waiting for admission to a hospital, even after 270 previously confined in isolation rooms were moved to tier-2 beds in isolation wards.

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In addition, 162 recovering patients were moved to the community quarantine facility at Lei Yue Mun holiday camp.

“We are trying to commission the AsiaWorld-Expo community isolation facility by Saturday to shorten the waiting time,” she said.

Ho said there are 1,168 patients admitted in 16 hospitals and the Lei Yue Mun facility; 39 of them critical, 32 serious, and 1,097 are in stable condition.

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Amid the rapid increase in cases, the government further tightened gathering rules.

From yesterday, a maximum of only two people could gather in public, the wearing of masks was made mandatory in all public places, all recreational facilities except open parks were closed, and dine-in services at restaurants was banned.

However, the dine-in ban was totally reversed today as dozens of workers were shown having lunch by the roadside, or in front of restaurants, because they did not have an office or an indoor place to eat in.

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Undersecretary for Food and Health Chui Tak-yin said: “The government understands the inconvenience and difficulties the measure will bring to employees after reviewing the situation of a total ban on Wednesday.”

Thus, from tomorrow, diners will again be allowed to eat inside restaurants from 5am to 6pm, after which they can only by food for takeaway. But only two people can eat at each table, and the number of diners cannot exceed 50% of the restaurant’s capacity.

The stricter rule was imposed after several clusters of cases were traced to people dining together in restaurants across Hong Kong, notably the Bun Kee Noodle and Congee shop in Tsz Wan Shan and the Fulum restaurant in Tuen Mun.

Chui also said tests have been carried out in the hard-hit sectors: 23,000 in the catering business; 17,100 staff in 553 elderly homes; 1,000 among taxi drivers; and 4,200 among property management staff.

Of today’s locally acquired cases, 84 involved family members or friends of previously infected people.

Two taxi drivers are included in the list, as well as two more workers at the Sheung Shui slaughterhouse.

An additional case was recorded for the Cornwall elderly home in Tuen Mun, where about 20 other residents and staff had tested positive earlier.

Several patients admitted to general wards at four hospitals have also tested preliminary positive.

Among them is a 64-year-old man who was put in a ward at Queen Elizabeth Hospital for with eight other patients, initially for a heart ailment.

A second patient, a 71-year-old woman, was immediately put in an isolation ward after experiencing chest pain. She was initially taken to the hospital after having fever and discomfort.

At Caritas Medical Centre, a four-year-old boy who had fever, vomited in an observation ward. The ward assistant who attended to him was not wearing PPE, so he was quarantined. The boy was immediately admitted for isolation at Princess Margaret Hospital.

And at North District Hospital, a 79-year-old woman was put in a general ward with six other patients while under observation for anemia. She was later put in an isolation ward after testing preliminary positive.

In response to a question from a reporter, Chuang disclosed that six staff at Metro Radio have tested positive for the virus, and one was preliminary positive.

“Some did not wear masks during radio programs,” she said.

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