16 airport staff quarantined after Omicron variant found in stranded passenger

By The SUN 

CHP says no trace of Omicron was found in the places visited by the infected man 

Health authorities said tonight, Dec 2, that 16 staff of Hong Kong International Airport will be moved to Penny’s Bay Quarantine Centre after being tagged as close contacts of a stranded passenger found to carry the Omicron variant of Covid-19.

The statement from the Centre for Health Protection also said the areas where the 38-year-old male passenger who arrived from Nigeria via Qatar had stayed, have been disinfected.

“All of the 13 post-disinfection environmental samples taken by the CHP from the concerned area have tested negative,” added the statement.

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The infected passenger arrived at Hong Kong International Airport from Doha aboard QR818 on Nov 24 for transit, but was stuck because of visa problems.

His case prompted a top microbiologist to call on the Airport Authority to tighten anti-Covid restrictions on transit passengers.

Speaking on a radio program, Ho Pak-leung from the University of Hong Kong said that at the very least, the patient should have been tested for Covid-19 everyday while he was at the airport.

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“If he’s stranded, at least he should be tested every day. If he’s expected to stay here for a relatively longer period, he should be sent into quarantine. If he's allowed to stay at the airport's restricted area, he’d come into contact with airport staff and other travelers and there’s risk of cross-infection,” he said.

Leung also asked if it was possible to require even transit passengers to be fully vaccinated, and for the authorities to speed up the process of identifying whether infected patients had the variant.

The Airport Authority, meanwhile, has said airlines are required to complete all transits within 24 hours or face punishment. The concerned airline is now being investigated.

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The Authority also said there are no more stranded passengers at the airport now.

All six passengers who tested positive for Covid-19 carried the strain often linked to Delta variant

Also today, the Centre for Health Protection reported six additional confirmed cases of Covid-19, and all of them are imported and carry the L452R mutant strain commonly linked to the Delta variant.

One of the patients, a 38-year-old man who came from Qatar via QR818 and had been to several African countries earlier, was in Hong Kong during the incubation period, so all the places where he lived and worked will be put under compulsory testing notice.

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Also among the confirmed cases is that of a 22-year-old man from Pakistan who was moved to Penny’s Bay earlier after people he had traveled with on flight EK384 from United Arab Emirates on Nov 21 were previously found infected.

Two patients tested positive on arrival at the airport, including a 60-year-old man who came from the United Kingdom via flight CX252 on Nov 30 and a 30-year-old man who flew in from South Africa and the Netherlands via KL819 on Nov 30.

Two others were in quarantine: a 53-year-old man who came from the United States on flight CX881 on Nov 28 and was staying at Pentahotel in Kowloon, and a 40-year-old woman who came from Russia and Finland via flight AY101 on Nov 28, and was at Nina Hotel in Aberdeen.

They took Hong Kong’s total Covid-19 tally to 12,445 cases and one probable case.

An update from CHP said it is investigating the case of a 28-year-old woman who tested preliminary positive for Covid-19 with the L452R mutant strain after arriving from the United States yesterday, Dec 1. She left Hong Kong for the US on Nov 20.

As she was in Hong Kong during the incubation period, her residential block, On Kin House, On Tin House, Lamtin, has been locked down overnight, and all residents there subjected to compulsory testing.

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HK reports 4th Omicron case in man stuck at HK airport

By The SUN 

The latest Omicron patient was stuck at HK airport for at least 2 weeks because of visa issues

Hong Kong reported today, Dec 1, its fourth imported Omicron case, involving a 38-year-old man from Nigeria who spent days stuck at the airport in the city.

The patient was not included among the three imported cases reported by the Centre for Health Protection today.

CHP said the patient had not received any Covid-19 vaccination and  was asymptomatic.

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Investigations revealed the man had previously travelled from Papua New Guinea to Nigeria on Nov 15, before he traveled to Qatar and Hong Kong.

After his arrival in Hong Kong on Nov 24, he remained in the airside of the restricted area of the airport due to a visa-related issue.

He tested positive in a pre-departure test on Nov 27 in the restricted area, but was found to carry the highly-feared Omicron variant only on Dec. 1. 

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Places he had been to in Terminal 1 of the airport have been put under a compulsory testing notice.

The report came as Nigeria confirmed finding the Omicron variant in samples it collected as early as October, suggesting the cases there had pre-dated those in southern Africa, which were first reported to the World Health Organization on Nov 24.

A room at Ramada North Point, where the 3rd Omicron patient had stayed

Earlier, Hong Kong found Omicron in another traveler from Nigeria who arrived on Nov 24 via

Ethiopia and Thailand. The 37-year-old man tested positive during his quarantine at Ramada Hotel in North Point.

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The two earlier Omicron cases involved a 36-year-old man from South Africa who was found to have passed on the variant to a 62-year-old man from Canada who had stayed in an opposite room at Regal Airport Hotel in Chek Lap Kok.

They arrived in Hong Kong on November 10 and 11, respectively, but were reported to have carried the previously unknown Omicron variant only on Nov 25.

Meanwhile, a Filipina domestic worker, a young girl from Pakistan and an elderly woman from Spain were reported today as having tested positive for Covid-19 in Hong Kong.

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The 31-year-old Filipina who arrived from Manila on Nov 25 via 5J272 tested positive on her fifth day at Penny’s Bay Quarantine Centre.

The five-year-old girl who had originally come from Pakistan was also at PBQC where she was tested after being identified as a close contact of a previously identified Covid-19 patient. She came on Nov 21 via EK384 from United Arab Emirates.

The third patient is a 61-year-old woman from Spain who flew via Qatar on QR818 on Nov 29. She tested positive on her arrival test at HK airport.

The two older women both carried the L452R mutant strain while the girl’s viral load was insufficient for testing.

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Filipina dies in fall from rooftop of Sheung Wan hotel

By Vir B. Lumicao 

The Filipina fell from the rooftop of this hotel in Sheung Wan

A 27-year-old Filipina fell to her death from the rooftop of a 20-storey hotel in Sheung Wan where she was a guest, on Sunday, Nov. 28, police said.

A police spokesman confirmed today, Dec 1, that the deceased was a Filipina with a Hong Kong identity card who checked into the hotel the night before. He could not say for sure whether she was a resident or a foreign domestic worker.

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Investigators classified the case as “falling from height” as no suicide note was found. They are still looking into the exact cause of her fall.

The police said that about 1am on Sunday, they received a report from residents that a woman had fallen from the hotel rooftop. Her body was found lying next to the platform on the second floor of an apartment building at 26 Possession St.

Paramedics who arrived at the scene certified that the victim was dead.

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The took away some of her personal belongings from the hotel to look for clues. Her remains were taken to a mortuary.

Welfare officer Virsie Tamayao said the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration has not received any request for assistance from relatives or friends of the victim, indicating she may be a resident and not a migrant worker.

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Anyone who feels depressed or burdened by a problem may visit OWWA's office on 29/F United Centre Building, Admiralty, or the assistance to nationals section of the Consulate on 14/F of the same tower.

They may also call any of the ATN numbers, 2823 8505, 2823 8506 and 2823 8516 of the OWWA hotline at 6345 9324.

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“People who need help about their problem can visit or call us at ATN or OWWA. If they need counseling, we can refer them to friends, like PathFinders, who can listen to them and give advice regarding their problem,” said Consul Paulo Saret, ATN head.   

Troubled individuals with suicidal tendencies can also call The Samaritans’ 24-hour hotline, 2896 0000, for free counseling.

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Critically ill Filipina and son seek judicial review of deportation order

By Vir B. Lumicao  

The ailing Filipina and her son want to challenge the deportation order against them

A High Court judge said he will study the grounds cited by a Filipina mother and her Hong Kong-born son who are seeking leave for a judicial review of a government order to deport them.

Applicants, Cristina D. Gano, 53, and Bernard Gano, 18, claim their lives would be at risk in the Philippines, hence, their petition for the court to overturn a decision by the Torture Claims Appeal Board to reject their non-refoulement applications.

Cristina took the floor briefly when she was asked by Judge K.W. Lung, through her lawyer, why she wanted to stay on in Hong Kong.

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Counsel Lewis Law, assigned by the Legal Aid Department to represent the two applicants, cited the following grounds for appeal:

First, the risk to Cristina and her son’s lives once they returned home due to a death threat from her husband after learning she gave birth to a son of out wedlock.

The lawyer said Cristina, who is from Ifugao, could be killed or subject to death, torture or persecution if she is brought to trial on adultery under tribal laws. He said the national law enforcement agency will not be able to provide adequate protection to her.

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Second, her critical medical condition under the government’s Unified Screening Mechanism process. The lawyer said she is suffering from various critical illnesses, including cervical cancer, stroke and brain tremors. 

She had been so sick she was unable to go to Immigration interviews and TCAB hearings. Her cervical cancer, discovered in 2016, had shortened her life expectancy.

Third, internal relocation would be difficult for both the mother and son. Wong said with Cristina’s medical condition, her removal/rejection of medical treatment by Hong Kong amounts to a valid ground under the European Convention on Human Rights (equivalent to Art 3 of the HK Bill of Rights) for present claims.

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Wong said the TCAB should have first made a finding on what was the applicable test, e.g. (a) whether Cristina was so critically ill or close to death; (b) she could not be provided with basic levels of food, shelter or social support in the Philippines; and (c) the abrupt withdrawal of medication/treatment would cause her “actual mental and physical suffering”.

He said the board had made errors of facts when assessing the mother’s credibility, which was material to its rejection of her claim.

The judge told the lawyer to cut down the authorities he cited, adding that a thousand pages of pleadings would take much time to examine. He said he will consider the application and come back with his verdict.

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Cristina came to Hong Kong in 1992 to work as a domestic helper. She lost her job in 2001 and overstayed until she was arrested during a police check in 2010.

She was sentenced to eight months in jail and her son was sent to a Boys Home run by the Social Welfare Department.

After serving her sentence, she and her son lodged a torture claim with the Immigration Department in August 2011 with free legal assistance by Duty Lawyers, but this was rejected.

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The two then appealed Immigration’s decision to the TCAB on Oct 21, 2011, but the appeal was also denied.

In the succeeding years, the mother and son filed a series of applications with Immigration and TCAB, including a non-refoulement claim under the USM process, but were unsuccessful.

They issued the present court application for a judicial review of the TCAB’s decision on Aug 27, 2019.

According to the solicitors representing both petitioners, Bernard would lose a great future in Hong Kong if he is deported. He is said to be a talented basketball player and is one of the Top 4 Young League contenders among students in secondary schools.

The lawyers said this unique talent could enable him to be drafted into the SAR’s national team in the Olympics and other international games.

Bernard is said to attend a local school in North Point and is due to sit for the DSE exam next year.

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Canada, Australia and 11 more countries now ‘high risk’ due to Omicron

By The SUN 

First photos of the Omicron variant show it to have far more mutations than Delta

 Starting from today, Nov 30, several more countries previously classified as “medium risk” for Covid-19 have been moved to the Group A or high-risk categories after cases of the highly feared Omicron variant were detected in their territories.

They include four additional African countries upgraded to the highly restricted group from today, and nine in various continents which will be moved to the top tier starting on Dec 2.

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To be re-classified starting Thursday are Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Germany, Israel and Italy.

After Hong Kong detected a third case of the Omicron variant in a newly arrived traveler from Nigeria, this west African country has also been included in the high-risk group, along with neighboring Angola, Ethiopia and Zambia.

They joined eight southern African countries already moved to the highly restricted group starting Saturday.

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All travelers from the African continent will not only be required to be fully vaccinated residents who must undergo 21 days of quarantine, they will also have to spend the first seven days of this period in Penny’s Bay where they will be tested and checked on everyday.

If they test negative, they will be allowed to move into the designated hotel they had picked for their quarantine and spend the additional 14 days of isolation there. If they are found infected, they will be moved to the infection control centre at North Lantau Hospital where they will spend no less than 24 days in isolation.

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For all other high-risk places outside of Africa, only residents will be allowed to enter Hong Kong. In addition, they will have to be fully vaccinated, present a negative result for a RT-PCR test done within 72 hours before boarding, and have a confirmed booking for their 21-day quarantine at a designated hotel.

At least six tests will be conducted during the 21-day quarantine, followed by another compulsory test in a community testing centre on the 26th day of arrival at Hong Kong.

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The stricter quarantine and testing arrangement is currently applicable to inbound travelers from Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa and Zimbabwe.

Omicron has prompted most countries to tighten entry restrictions

Omicron, which has caused global concern because of its large number of mutations and the possibility that it is resistant to vaccines, was first detected in South Africa on Nov 24, though various reports say it had infected people in Botswana much earlier.

On Nov 26, the World Health Organization listed it as a “variant of concern,” on the same day two linked cases of a mutant strain found in Hong Kong were also detected to be of the Omicron variant.

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A returnee from South African was found to have brought the mutated virus into Hong Kong, and infected a man from Canada who stayed in the opposite room at their quarantine hotel.

Details on the relevant boarding and compulsory quarantine requirements for each  specified place can be found at www.coronavirus.gov.hk/eng/inbound-travel.html.

In its statement announcing the heightened restrictions, the government said it will continue to closely monitor the Covid-19 situation in various places and adjust its boarding, quarantine and testing requirements accordingly.

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Filipina DH 2 days from ending quarantine is among 6 new Covid-19 cases

By Daisy CL Mandap 

4 of the new patients were at Penny's Bay, including the Filipina DH

A Filipina domestic helper who should have finished her 21-day quarantine in two days is among six new confirmed cases of Covid-19 reported today, Nov 30.

According to the Centre for Health Protection, the 48-year-old Filipina who was quarantined at Penny’s Bay arrived on Nov 10 via CX906. That would mean her being eligible for discharge on Thursday, Dec 1.

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However, CHP staff said the woman tested positive for coronavirus with the L452R mutant strain on her 19^th day in quarantine despite being asymptomatic, and having been fully vaccinated with Sinovac in the Philippines.

As a result of her late diagnosis, she will continue to be held in isolation for at least 24 more days, making her quarantine last for a total of 43 days, even if she has not developed any symptoms.

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According to the latest guidelines issued by the Food and Health Bureau on Oct 26, all confirmed cases must spend at least 10 days in hospital, during which they should have two negative test results taken 24 hours apart before being deemed eligible for discharge.

Recovered patients need to stay 2 more weeks at North Lantau Hospital

After this, the patient will be kept at the North Lantau Hospital Infection Control Centre for 14 more days for further medical surveillance.

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The same post-diagnosis protocols will be observed for the five other confirmed cases today, including three who flew in together on Nov 21 from Pakistan and the United Arab Emirates.

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The Pakistan returnees who were all moved to Penny’s Bay earlier after being deemed close contacts of previously confirmed patients, are made up of a one-year-old baby boy, a nine-year-old girl and a 47-year-old woman.

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The other patients are a 27-year-old woman from India who arrived on Nov 28 and tested positive on her arrival test, and a 22-year-old man who came from the United Kingdom on Nov 24 and tested positive on his third day in quarantine at Ramada Grand Hotel  in Tsim Sha Tsui.

They took the total Covid-19 tally in Hong Kong to 12, 436 confirmed cases and one probable case.

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