Investigations into HK’s first local case in nearly 2 months hit blank wall

By The SUN 

The patient handled cargo coming from the US, Europe and the Middle East

Health experts say they have yet to find the source of infection of an airport cargo handler who was found to carry the Delta variant of the coronavirus and whose case, the first to be found locally in 51 days, was reported on Oct. 8.

A statement issued by the Centre for Health Protection today, Oct 11, said the genetic sequence of the 48-year-old man is different from any of the cases detected in Hong Kong, indicating a possible link to an imported case.

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The Department of Health’s laboratory also compared the man’s genetic sequence with those available in the online genome database GISAID and found no match. His sequence is said to be relatively closer to cases reported in Europe, Korea and the United States.

Meanwhile, a sample taken from the handle of a microwave oven in the staff common room of the man’s workplace, tested positive for Covid-19. But the CHP said the sample had a very low viral load and was likely the result of contamination by the patient.

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As a precaution, staff who have come into contact with the microwave oven will be moved to a quarantine centre while the staff common room will be closed and disinfected.

All close contacts of the patient have already been quarantined, but so far, no one has tested positive for Covid-19.

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The CHP said it will set up a new community testing centre starting on Oct 14 at the HK International Airport to help staff members who need to undergo regular Covid-19 testing.

The CTC will be located at the ground transportation lounge of the airpor near Terminal 1 as well as the bus terminus, making it easily accessible to airport staff.

Staff and any member of the public who want to get themselves tested at the airport CTC may book online starting at 7pm today, Oct 11.

The new airport CTC is located near the bus stops for easy access

Meanwhile, seven new cases were reported today, involving two travelers from the Philippines, two from Pakistan, and one each from Kenya, Montenegro and the United States.

All are fully vaccinated.

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Six tested positive for the L452R mutant strain, while the test result on one, a 33-year-old man who came from the Philippines and was in quarantine at Ramada in Sai Ying Pun, is still pending.

The other recent arrival from the Philippines is a 40-year-old woman who was in quarantine at Penny’s Bay.

Those who flew in from Pakistan are both men, aged 75 and 31, who were staying at Best Western Hotel in Wanchai.

The others included a 35-year-old man who came from Kenya and was staying at Ramada in North Point, a 37-year-old male seafarer from Montenegro who tested positive on arrival, and a 27-year-old man from the United States who was in quarantine at Dorsett Mongkok hotel.

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Typhoon Signal No 8 ‘most likely’ to be raised late Tuesday

By The SUN

The Observatory says Kompass could be stronger than Lionrock, which caused No 8 to be raised for 22 hours

The Hong Kong Observatory says it will raise the No 3 typhoon signal tonight, Oct 11, as Severe Tropical Storm Kompasu moves within 800 km of the city.

The signal could most likely be upgraded to No 8 late tomorrow, Tuesday, or early Wednesday, when Kompasu moves within 400 km of Hong Kong. But that would depend on how the dry air from the monsoon affected the city.

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The forecasters said some unexpected events could happen that would prevent the higher signal being hoisted, like if the northeast monsoon would push Kompasu farther from Hong Kong and weaken its winds.

But they warned the second major storm to hit the city could be stronger than Lionrock, which led to the No 8 signal being hoisted over Hong Kong for 22 hours, the longest since 1978.

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At the press briefing, the Observatory’s director, Cheng Cho-ming promosed to deploy more staff to monitor the approach of Kompasu, saying the public advisories over the previous storm were not ideal.

The Observatory said at first that the No 8 signal would be lowered by mid-day Saturday, then said it would last until midnight, but did not actually lower it until 4:40am the next day.

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There were also criticisms about the black rainstorm warning being raised quite late on Friday when the rains were already pouring heavily, and some kids had already left for school.

HKO's Cheng promises to provide better and timely advisories this time 

“We will enlist more of our staff, increase our manpower to monitor the situation so that we will have a better appreciation with the situation around and hopefully we can provide a better service this time,” Cheng said.

But he said Lionrock was a “special case” because even if it was 500km away from Hong Kong it brought strong winds, and also brought record-breaking rainfall in the city.

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The latest weather forecast says Kompasu was centred about 470 kilometres north of Manila, and is forecast to move west at about 25 km pero hour across the vicinity of the Luzon Strait.

It will be fine and dry tonight, cloudy tomorrow, with some squally showers later in the day. On Wednesdays it will be windy with heavy rain and squalls. The seas will be rough.

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Penny’s Bay week-long quarantine slots closed within minutes again

By Daisy CL Mandap

CE Carrie Lam inspecting Penny's Bay Quarantine Centre shortly after it opened (File)

The 350 slots that opened today, Oct 11, at Penny’s Bay Quarantine Centre for foreign domestic helpers were again filled within minutes of the booking being opened. The bookings accepted today were for check-ins from Oct 29 to Nov 4.

Shortly after 9:00am when the booking opened, many Filipina DHs sent messages to The SUN to ask whether there was a problem with the online system, or whether it did not open as promised, as they could not get in.

As before, a few asked what the reference number on the dedicated booking website was. It turned out they had pressed “enquiry” because they could not activate the “start booking” button.

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But the window linked to the Department of Labour website is clear. “When the booking quotas have been filled, applicants cannot enter the page of ‘start booking’ of the booking system,” says an advisory posted on website.

In short, the booking was again closed because there were no more rooms available at Penny’s Bay. The booking will resume on next Monday, Oct 18.

The difficulty of securing quarantine space has dealt another blow to many Filipino helpers who have been waiting for months to enter Hong Kong.

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One of them is Carlos Frondozo, who said in a comment on The SUN’s Facebook page that he had been stuck in the Philippines for nine months because he couldn’t get a quarantine booking.

Not a few, including Mhai Bautista, Ayona Boter and Cheng Hai repeated a call for more rooms being allotted to stranded workers, saying they are already “baon na baon na sa utang” (heavily in debt).

Another called Rosa Lee said she was hoping to book a quarantine room soon, as she was getting stressed because her medical certificate and employment visa were about to expire again.

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Today was the third Monday in a row when the weekly slots of 50 a day for the designated quarantine facility for FDHs were filled within minutes of the booking system’s opening.

Silka Tsuen Wan hotel, which has also been designated as a quarantine facility for incoming helpers, has long been booked until the end of this month, so getting a room there is even more difficult, as well as pricier.

A room at Penny’s Bay costs $480 a day for FDHs who need to stay there for 21 days, while at Silka, the daily rate is $800.

Silka costs nearly twice as much as Penny's Bay

Labour Secretary Law Chi-kwong has said that Hong Kong is allotting a maximum of 50 rooms a day for the FDHs arriving from high-risk countries, so as to minimize the risk of imported cases entering the city.

He cited the positivity rate among newly arrived FDHs of more than 4 percent between September and October as a basis for limiting their entry, even while acknowledging the huge demand for them from local families.

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Between 4,000 and 6,000 FDHs are reported to have been stranded in both the Philippines and India after Hong Kong designated them as high risk, and tightened restrictions on passenger arrivals from both places.

The flight ban took longer in the Philippines, which was classified as high risk on Apr 20, while Indonesia was added to the list on Jun 25.

While the designation remains, FDHs from both places were allowed to start coming back on Aug 30, although in very limited numbers.

On top of this, all FDHs who were vaccinated outside of Hong Kong are required to spend their 21-day quarantine either at Penny’s Bay or Silka Tsuen Wan hotel.

Those who wish to book a room at Penny's Bay may log on to: www.fdh.labour.gov.hk

For Silka, the booking link is here: https://www.guestreservations.com/silka-tsuen-wan-hotel/booking

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CX crew tests positive in Australia day after negative result in HK

By The SUN 

The CX flight crew was fully vaccinated and tested negative before flying to Australia

The Centre for Health Protection says it is investigating the case of a female air crew of Cathay Pacific who tested positive for Covid-19 in Australia, one day after testing negative in Hong Kong.

The announcement came as no new infection was reported today, Oct. 10. This means Hong Kong’s total Covid tally remains at 12,262.

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The CHP said in a statement today, Oct 10, that the patient, aged 54, tested negative in Hong Kong on Oct. 6. She traveled next day to Australia via CX101, where her specimen collected there on the same day tested positive. She remains asymptomatic.

She received two doses of BioNTech vaccine on Mar 10 and Apr 6 in Hong Kong.

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As a precaution, Block 2, Seaview Crescent, 8 Tung Chung Waterfront Road, where she lives, will be put under compulsory testing notice.

Nip (in blue) gives the thumbs-up to an elderly woman who took the jab

Meanwhile, Secretary for the Civil Service Patrick Nip repeated his appeal to the elderly to get vaccinated against the coronavirus as they are extremely high risk of catching the disease, and dying from it.

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Nip made his statement as he joined the latest vaccination outreach for the elderly at Luen Wo Hui Community Hall in Fanling.

Nip emphasized the importance of a Covid-19 jab to the elderly and told them to get vaccinated as early as possible, especially with a new local case being reported for the first time in 51 days

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About 210 residents took part in today’s activity, where they were told they could get the Sinovac vaccine on site, or the one from BioNTech at a nearby community vaccination centre.

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Experts say elderly persons should receive a Covid-19 jab as soon as possible as long as they have no acute illnesses. All elderly people who have been given influenza vaccines previously can safely receive Covid-19 shots.

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Thousands more people line up on last Sunday of extended OVR

By Vir B. Lumicao 

The queue for OVR applicants starts at this nearby bridge, which remained packed by midday

About 1,500 Filipino workers endured exhaustion and hunger today, Oct 10, as they lined up for hours in a last-minute attempt to register as overseas voters for next May’s national elections. 

This is 50% more than the number of those who lined up the past few Sundays, as thousands of Filipinos tried to beat the deadline for overseas voter registration (OVR).

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At 1pm, three female workers at the head of the queue for taking the lift to the Consulate on the 14th floor of the United Centre in Admiralty said they had been lining up since 5am.

By then, about 1,000 people who got there ahead had already been called to go upstairs starting at 9am, according to Filipino community leader and volunteer Marites Nuval.

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She said more people lined up for the OVR today than in previous Sundays, when most Filipino migrant workers are off work. The OVR, which has already been extended for two weeks, will last until Thursday, Oct 14.

From the bridge, the registrants are herded to the building's corridors

On Oct 18, the Resident Election Registration Board will convene at 4pm at the Consulate to hear applications for registration/certification, reactivation, transfer of registration, correction of wrong entries filed between Jul 1 and Sept 30 this year.

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Those who have objections to the list have until today to file their objections in writing, said Consul Robert Quintin, RERB chairman, in a recent advisory.

Many of those who tried to beat the registration deadline today said they could not do so earlier as they were prevented from going out by their employers due to the coronavirus contagion.

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But many others said they did not realize the registration for next year’s presidential vote was ongoing until they were told by friends, or they read about it in the news.

Nuval said when she got to United Centre at 7am, the line had already stretched to the footbridge leading to the government office at Tamar.

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One Consulate staff who was marshalling the lines said there was some fuss earlier in the morning, as it appeared that scores of workers had jumped the queue.

The women who were in front said they were already lining up before 5am outside the United Centre gate when the guard told them to queue up on the footbridge.

When they did as told, new arrivals took up their places at the gate so they were the first to be called to go to the 14^th floor in batches of 10 when the Consulate opened for business at 9am.

This explained why a Filipina who finished registering around 1:15pm said she queued up at 6:30am, while another who was some 52 places behind said she arrived at 6am.

The homestretch is the Consulate's public hall, where the applicants have to line up some more

Farther down the line, a group of five young Ilocanas who were squatting on the floor said they joined the queue on the footbridge at 6am and by 1:30pm, they were still about 200 people away from the front.

The five said they had not eaten breakfast and lunch, and only made do with some rolls bought at a nearby store.

Nuval said she was sending up batches of 8 or 10 people each, depending on what she was told by the marshals upstairs. The number depended on how many other people were in the public hall, which is also used by those who have transactions with the Social Security System, Pag-IBIG and other government agencies.

At least three Filipinas said they managed to register online through the Commission on Elections’ Virtual Frontline Service, but they still had to go to the Consulate to have their biometrics taken.

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