Returning Filipino resident, 2 sisters from Qatar today’s new coronavirus cases

By The SUN 

The Filipino resident flew in from Manila on Sept 17 via Cebu Pac

A Filipino resident and two sisters who returned from Qatar were reported Sunday, Sept 19, as the latest confirmed coronavirus cases in the city. They took the city’s total confirmed cases to 12,160.

The Centre for Health Protection said all three patients were fully vaccinated and  asymptomatic.

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The Filipino man, 38, and the elder Qatari woman, 26, both carried the L452R mutant strain of the coronavirus. The variant test result of the younger sister is pending, a government information service staff said.   

The Filipino arrived on Sept 17 from Manila on Cebu Pacific flight 5J272 and his specimen taken at Hong Kong International Airport tested positive for Covid-19, the staff said.

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CHP records show the man received two doses of Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine on Mar 23 and Apr 13 in Hong Kong while he tested positive for antibodies on Jul 26.

The two sisters arrived separately. The elder sister flew into Hong Kong on Sept 15 via Qatar Air flight QR818 from Doha and stayed at The Courtyard by Marriott in Sai Ying Pun. Her specimen on Day 3 of her quarantine tested positive yesterday. 

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The patient’s 25-year-old sister arrived on Sept 11 also on a QR818 fight. She was moved to a government quarantine center from her hotel after being identified as a close contact of the older sister. She tested positive there seven days after arrival, the staff said.

The older patient received two doses of CoronaVac vaccine in China on Jul 7 and Jul 28 while her sister had two BioNTech jabs in Hong Kong on Mar 19 and Apr 10. The younger woman also tested positive for antibodies on Jul 7.

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The three new cases took the number of cases in Hong Kong to 12,161. A total of 44 cases have been reported in the past 14 days ending Sept 18, all of them imported.

Block K in Kornhill Estate has been put under compulsory testing  

CHP also said it is investigating an overseas case of Covid-19 involving a boy aged 16 who lives at Flat 9-16, Block K, Kornhill, Quarry Bay. 

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He tested negative in Hong Kong on Sept 4 before he traveled to the United Kingdom on Sept 6 via Flight CX255. But he developed symptoms on Sept 16 and his specimen collected in the UK on the same day tested positive.

He received two BioNTech doses on Jul 8 and Jul 29 in Hong Kong. The CHP said it is following up the case with the British health authority.

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As the teenager spent part of the incubation period in Hong Kong, the CHP put his residential block under a compulsory testing notice.

Tomorrow, Sept 20, residents of Amber Garden, 110 Blue Pool Road, Happy Valley are reminded to undergo compulsory testing in accordance with the CTN, the CHP said.

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A male patient who was confirmed positive for the virus upon arrival from the US on Sept 9 lived in that address during the incubation period before he traveled on Aug 18.

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HK to update jab records of residents so they avoid UK quarantine

By The SUN 

Vaccinated HK visitors can only skip quarantine in UK if their birth date is in their vaccination card

Hong Kong is updating its vaccination records to include dates of birth so its fully vaccinated residents won’t be required to go into quarantine if they travel to the United Kingdom starting Oct 4.

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The government said the Food and Health Bureau is working on the update to make Hong Kong’s vaccination records compliant with international travel rules, including those of the UK.

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The UK government has announced that from 4am on Oct 4, the rules for international travel to that country will change from the red, amber, green three-tier traffic light system to a single red list. 

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Except for those with residence rights in the UK, travelers who have been to places on the red list in the past 10 days will be denied entry.

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Hong Kong is currently on the green list, which allows its residents, even those without residency in the UK, to enter. But they must be fully vaccinated with a specified Covid-19 vaccine by the relevant health authorities in their place of origin at least 14 days before arrival to be exempted from quarantine. They also need to get tested on the second day of their arrival.

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Under the new system, the arrivals from Hong Kong must also have their dates of birth shown on their vaccination record to join the “safe list” so its travelers can skip the pre-departure test and quarantine.

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Those who have not completed vaccination will need to undergo self-quarantine for 10 days and get tested on the second and eighth day of arrival. They also need to take Covid-19 tests within 3 days before departure and get another test on the second day of arrival. If they test negative, they won’t be quarantined.

The government said it has been notified by Britain of the changes. 

HK's electronic vaccination cards do not carry the vaccinated person's date of birth

“The Food and Health Bureau is working out the necessary arrangements to add the information of date of birth to the vaccination records to comply with the latest requirements of the UK Government,” the government said.

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“We will announce the details once the relevant arrangement is in place,” it added.

Acting British Consul General to Hong Kong, Tamsin Heath, tweeted on Saturday that the SAR’s vaccine certificate does not meet Britain’s minimum criteria and that the UK is working with the Hong Kong government for a swift solution.

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5 imported Covid-19 cases reported, including 1 Filipina DH

By The SUN 

The Filipina DH flew in aboard PAL on Sept 16 and tested positive at HK Airport

Five imported Covid-19 infections were reported in Hong Kong today, Sep. 18, involving patients who arrived from Qatar, the United States, the Philippines and India.

All were asymptomatic but all were found to carry the L452R mutant strain of the virus.

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They brought Hong Kong’s total Covid-19 tally to 12,158.

Four of the patients are returning residents while the one from the Philippines is a 43-year-old female domestic helper who arrived on Sept 16 from Manila via Philippine Airlines flight PR300 She tested positive on her arrival test.

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The Centre for Health Protection said she had two doses of the BioNTech vaccine in Hong Kong on Apr 7 and 28.

Another patient who tested positive on arrival is a 34-year-old woman who came in from Qatar on Sept 16 via QR 818. She had two jabs of the Covishield vaccine in India on Jul 17 and Aug 14.

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An 18-year-old male who also came from Qatar on Sept 13 via QR818 tested positive while on quarantine at Ramada Grand View Hotel in North Point.

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He had the Sputnik vaccine in Kazakhstan on Jun 26 and Jul 31.

Another patient is a 29-year-old woman who came from the United States on Sept 11 via CX851and tested positive on her fifth-day test while on quarantine at Lan Kwai Fong hotel in Central.

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She was fully vaccinated with Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine in the US on Jun 24 and Aug 17.

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The last is also 18 years old but female and came from India on Sept 14 via Air India flight AI1314. She tested positive while on quarantine at Regal Oriental Hotel in Kowloon.

She had the Covishield vaccine in India on Jun 12 and Jul 17.

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Specified people linked to Aigburth and 7 Lyttelton Road in Mid-Levels are reminded to undergo compulsory testing tomorrow in accordance with the notice.

For information and health advice on COVID-19, visit the Government’s dedicated webpage.

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Bookings for Penny’s Bay halted for at least a week

 By The SUN

Bookings for Penny's Bay halted two days before it's set to open its doors to FDHs from overseas

Hong Kong’s Labour Secretary Law Chi-kwong has said that the booking at Penny’s Bay Quarantine Centre for incoming foreign domestic helpers has been temporarily halted because of a glitch, and may not resume for at least another week.

Law Chi-kwong made the disclosure during a media briefing after a radio program this morning, just two days before the government-run quarantine facility was to start accepting FDHs for their 21-day compulsory isolation.

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Law said it was almost inevitable to have hiccups with the booking arrangements as the government is doing it for the first time with the quarantine facility.

“The Government has never run a hotel before and that is a real challenge to our department colleagues. I do actually appreciate the efforts they have made in such a short notice, making such a facility to run almost like a hotel. We will see how we can improve the process,” he said.

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Problems have been reported from the day the bookings opened on Sept. 14 with all places until Oct 19 having been snapped within just a few minutes. The bookings reopened on Friday but many of those who had tried to secure rooms reported encountering difficulties.

An estimated 7,000 foreign domestic helpers, mostly from the Philippines and Indonesia, have been waiting for months to come in after Hong Kong classified the two countries as high-risk places, and barred passenger flights from there.

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Apart from Penny’s Bay, Silka Tsuen Wan Hotel has also been designated as a quarantine facility for FDHs, but all its 400 rooms had been snapped up within minutes after they became available for booking. It is set to resume accepting bookings in November.

At the Lantau quarantine centre, 800 rooms have been set aside for FDHs, but only 50 helpers will be allowed to check in each day.

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Law said that there is no plan to increase this quota, calling it an optimal arrangement

“If we are to increase that number significantly, such as to 100 or so, we are running the risk of high infection among people coming in and subsequently we may have to suspend the flights,” he said.

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“If we increase the number of people coming in and then unfortunately we have high infection rates on arrival, then all these flights will be suspended. That basically means there will be none coming in."

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He said the government will continue monitoring the development of the epidemic, the situation of FDHs flying in, the infection control measures and the infection rates before deciding whether any adjustments have to be made.

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29 kindergarten kids in Yuen Long suffer upper respiratory tract infection

By The SUN 

29 kids developed URTI symptoms in the kindergarten (File)

The Centre for Health Protection has said in a statement issued Friday that it is investigating an outbreak of upper respiratory tract infection (URTI) at a kindergarten-cum-child care centre in Yuen Long.

A total of 29 pupils, comprisijng 16 boys and 13 girls aged between 2 and 5 years old, were afflicted.

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They had developed cough, runny nose, sore throat and fever since September 10, and 24 had to seek medical attention. No one required hospitalization and all are in stable condition.

The CHP appealed to everyone, particularly to staff of institutions. to stay alert and maintain strict personal and environmental hygiene.

The school has been put under medical surveillance and advised to adopt infection control measures against respiratory infections.

Since the symptoms of URTI are similar to those of Covid-19, the school has been put under compulsory testing notice as a precaution, and to exclude the possibility of a coronavirus infection.

The school has been told to suspend the holding of classes for at least five days for cleaning and to comply with the CTN.

One the new cases went to India on Aug 31 and returned to HK on Sept 13

Meanwhile, the CHP also reported three additional confirmed cases of Covid-19, which took the total number of infections to 12,153.

The newly reported cases are all imported. They include a 53-year-old male patient who traveled to India on Aug 31 and returned on Sept 13 via flight EK 384.

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He tested negative on arrival, but was found infected with the L452R mutant strain of the virus three days later. He remains asymptomatic.

He received two doses of the BioNTech vaccine in Hong Kong Apr 8 and 30.

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As he was in Hong Kong partly during the incubation period, his residential building at Aigburth, Mid-levels and his place of work at Unit 1506A, International Commerce Centre, have been put under compulsory testing notice.

The two others involve a 47-year-old man who flew in from Qatar and tested positive on arrival test; and  45-year-old man who came from Germany and was found infected while in quarantine at 4 Points by Sheraton in Kowloon.

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Both men are asymptomatic and each received two doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine. The first had them in India on Jul 7 and Aug 7, and the other in the United Kingdom on Apr 19 and Jun 22.

The CHP is also investigating two overseas cases of Covid-19.

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The first is a 36-year-old male patient who flew to the United States on flight CX892 on Aug 19, and tested negative in Hong Kong on the same day. He developed symptoms in the US and his specimen collected on Aug 29 tested positive.

On Sept 7 he tested negative for Covid-19 and returned to HK on Sept 11 via flight CX851. His test on arrival at HK Airport tested negative but on Sept 14 his specimen was found to carry the L452R mutant strain of the coronavirus.

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He received two doses of the BioNTech vaccine in Hong Kong on Jul 19 and Aug 9 in Hong Kong.

Hong Kong is treating this as a re-positive case but as a precaution his residential building and place of work on 18/F, Kinwick Centre, 32 Hollywood Road, Central, have been put under CTN.

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The second case involves a 16-year-old female patient who flew to the United Kingdom on Sept 6 by flight CX 251 and tested negative for Covid-19 two days earlier. But her specimen collected in the UK on Sept 9 tested positive.

She remains asymptomatic. She received two doses of the BioNTech vaccine in Hong Kong on Jul 19 and Aug 9.

As a precaution, the building where she lived, which is Block 9, Villa Esplanada in Tsing Yi, has been put under CTN while CHP conducts an investigation.

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