2 lockdowns ordered as HK's new Covid-19 cases dip to 5

By Daisy CL Mandap 

The 2 preliminary positive cases are suspected to carry the Omicron variant

Health officials ordered a lockdown tonight, Jan 15, on two residential buildings in Tsing Yi and Sham Shui Po where two females who tested preliminary positive for Covid-19 with the Omicron strains live.

The sources of their infection is still unknown.

They were among about 10 preliminary positive cases reported by the Centre for Health Protection earlier today. A total of five confirmed cases were also recorded, three of them imported and two with links to imported cases.

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The Tsing Yi resident is a 41-year-old cleaner of cargo aircraft at the Hong Kong International Airport. She lives in Wang Sin House, Cheung Wang Estate, 9 Liu To Road, Tsing Yi.

She tested negative during routine testing on Jan 8 and 11 and last went to work on Jan 14, when she tested positive for Covid-19 with a Ct value of about 20, indicating a heavy viral load. She is fully vaccinated with Sinovac.

The second is a 43-year-old woman who lives in Tung Moon House, Tai Hang Tung Estate, 83 Tai Hang Tung Road, Sham Shui Po.

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She arrived in Hong Kong on Dec 20, 2021 from Pakistan by flight EK384 and she tested negative at the airport. She spent her 21-day compulsory quarantine at Silka Seaview Hotel Hong Kong in Yau Ma Tei, during which all the results of her six tests were negative.

She moved to her house on Jan 10 and on Jan 14, she underwent another test at a community testing centre in line with regulations. The result was preliminary positive, with a heavy viral load. She had two doses of the Sinovac vaccine in Pakistan.

The CHP is now investigating the places they visited during the incubation periods and will conduct genome sequencing and compare them with previously detected cases in Hong Kong to find their infection sources.

Earlier, CHP’s Dr Chuang Shuk-kwan said the two local cases reported today were linked to previous infections that were import-related.

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The first is a 74-year-old man who lives in Block B of Maple Gardens Phase 3 in North Point and is a family member of a man who works in Citic securities and had links with the so-called dance cluster in Causeway Bay.

He is the fourth person to contract the virus in the residential building, where experts say a vertical transmission had occurred between two separate flats.

The other confirmed local case is the 51-year-old female security guard at Penny’s Bay Quarantine Centre who was tagged as a close contact of a colleague with whom she shared meals.

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The first patient was found to have caught the virus from a brief encounter through a screened partition with an infected person who had stayed at the quarantine.

A Filipina domestic worker is among 3 imported cases

Among the three imported cases is a 36-year-old female domestic helper who flew in from the Philippines on Jan 5 aboard flight OZ721. She tested positive on her 8^th day of quarantine at the Regala Skylight in Tung Chung.

The others are both 21-year-old females who both tested positive on arrival at the airport on Jan 13. The first came by flight KE607 from United Arab Emirates via Korea and the second aboard flight SQ007 from the United States.

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They took Hong Kong’s total tally to 13,030 confirmed cases of which 410 are still undergoing treatment in various public hospitals.

Philippines urged to help stranded workers as Covid-19 cases hit 39k-mark

 By The SUN 

Rush for Covid jabs in Mandaluyong City, as the country hit a record 39,004 cases

A migrant workers group has called on the Philippine government to extend help to foreign domestic workers who have been left stranded by the new flight ban imposed on the country by Hong Kong.

“We want the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration to step up and ensure that all stranded OFWs (overseas Filipino workers) are given aid,” said Dolores Balladares-Pelaez, chairperson of United Filipinos-Migrante and Bayan Muna Partylist in Hong Kong.

“Live up to your name! Ensure our welfare.”

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Her call came amid a widespread clamor for help from an estimated 6,000 Hong Kong-bound workers in the Philippines, many of whom have waited for months to leave because of limited quarantine spaces allotted to them in the city.

In an online interview with The SUN Thursday, OWWA Administrator Hans Cacdac said no immediate funds were available for those who have been stuck in the Philippines as a result of the flight ban.

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But Cacdac said he would relay the concerns of the workers to responsible officials.

"Idudulog ko rin po kay (Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III) at sa OWWA Board para tingnan kung may tulong na maibibigay."

Cacdac promises to look for funds for workers stranded by the flight ban

The ban on passenger flights from the Philippines which has now been extended for another fortnight, or until Feb. 4, means they will have to wait even longer.

While there is no corresponding ban on flights from Hong Kong to Manila, airlines would be less likely to fly this route because of low passenger volume, thus causing flight cancellations on this end as well.

Worse, the outlook for lifting the ban on the rescheduled date is bleak because of the surge in Covid-19 cases in the Philippines. Today, Jan 15, the country posted its third daily record high of 39,004 cases, which also raised the number of active cases to 280,183, the highest since the pandemic broke out two years ago.

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Pelaez said the government of President Rodrigo Duterte should be blamed for the unprecedented rise in the number of infected persons in the country.

“We want the Duterte government to (account for) this Omicron mess. We are worried for our families back home, now that the Omicron variant is wreaking havoc in the Philippines,” she said.

Pelaez said the spread of the highly infectious variant exposed anew the dismal health system and what it calls as the government’s “inept and militaristic” approach to solving the pandemic.

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She lamented the shortage of basic flu medicines, and the forcible isolation of the unvaccinated instead of encouraging them to take the jab.

“But it is even more alarming that the cases are reaching 30,000 in one day, with the hospitals full and healthcare workers exhausted to the bone,” Pelaez said.

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She said the government should focus more on mass testing instead of militarism; systematic contact tracing, not false promises; and aid, not negligence.

Govt cracks down on food hawking as part of anti-virus measures

By The SUN 

FEHD agents seize cooked food in pots and fresh meatballs peddled in Victoria Park

Foreign domestic workers spending their days off in their usual hangouts in Central, Causeway Bay and other public places in Hong Kong, will find government teams again enforcing social distancing and other anti-Covid rules this weekend.

This time around, they will be cracking down as well on illegal hawkers, especially those that sell food at migrant workers’ favorite haunts.

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Last Jan. 9, a similar operation resulted in FEHD (Food and Environmental Hygiene Department) officers arresting one person for illegally selling food in a public place near Victoria Park and seized abandoned articles that included fresh and cooked food.

Filipinos who hang out in Central also reported seeing the enforcement teams telling off workers who spread and shared food on the pedestrian underpass linking Chater Road and Edinburgh Place near City Hall.

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Experts have always said that the sharing of food in public gatherings is one of the key routes of virus transmission.

Govt agents stepped up the campaign after 3 Indonesian DHs were infected with Omicron

The government has been making repeated calls for FDHs to help in fighting Covid-19 which spiked this month and left three Indonesian FDHs positive for Covid-19, out of the 171 asymptomatic cases and two re-positive cases recorded since Jan.1.

In a press release today, the FEHD said: “The Government is highly concerned about the latest epidemic situation and strongly appeals to all sectors… including FDHs to fight the virus together.”

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It appealed to FDHs to “raise awareness of epidemic prevention, keep the environment clean and hygienic, and comply with the various anti-epidemic regulations and restrictions, including the requirements on group gatherings and wearing of masks.”

Teams that will roam the FDH gathering places will include not just FEHD and Leisure and Cultural Services Department – the agencies in charge of maintaining these public places -- but also the Hong Kong Police Force, Labour Department, and Immigration Department.

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“The joint operations started today and will continue tomorrow at various public places in Wan Chai, Central and Western, Mong Kok, Yau Tsim, Sha Tin, Tsuen Wan and Sai Kung, near popular FDH gathering public places during weekends and public holidays,” FEHD said.

“During the operations, apart from arranging cleansing contractors to strengthen street cleaning services at the relevant spots, the FEHD also steps up patrols to combat littering and unlicensed hawking activities.”

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“In addition, promotional leaflets in multiple languages are also distributed by the FEHD to appeal to FDHs to maintain environmental hygiene and refrain from conducting unlicensed hawking activities.

“FDHs are also reminded by other government departments to comply with the regulations on mask-wearing and prohibition of group gatherings in public places,” it added.

The statement said that under the The Prevention and Control of Disease (Prohibition on Group Gathering) Regulation (Cap. 599G) and the Prevention and Control of Disease (Wearing of Mask) Regulation (Cap. 599I), violators may each be charged a fixed penalty of $5,000.

 

HK keeps flight ban on 8 countries, strict gathering rules

By Daisy CL Mandap 

The irony of the background slogan did not escape reporters

Hong Kong has decided to keep for at least two more weeks its ban on passenger flights from eight countries, including the Philippines.

At a press conference held earlier tonight, Chief Executive Carrie Lam also announced that the stringent social distancing measures that were originally meant to last only until Jan 20 will also be extended for 14 days.

The flight ban which was enforced on Jan 8 and was set to last only until Jan 21, will now be extended to Feb 4. Covered by the ban apart from the Philippines are Australia, Canada, France, India, Pakistan, the United Kingdom and the United States.

The stricter gathering rules which prohibit dining in at restaurants after 6pm among other restrictions, will be in place until Feb 3, the third day of the Lunar New Year.

CE Lam’s announcement came as the number of Omicron-linked cases in Hong Kong dropped to 9 today, the lowest in two weeks.

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She also reported a significant drop in the total number of cases in the past week since she announced the twin measures, and said the infection rate this time is far lower than in the third wave.

But she said the fear that there are undetected virus carriers in the city remains, citing figures showing that 30% of those found to have Omicron in Hong Kong do not display symptoms.

“We are worried that there may still be a silent transmission going on,” she said. “So our view is that there is still risk of an outbreak.”

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She added that Hong Kong has to remain vigilant and ensure that it is not importing cases.

The eight countries where passenger flights have been banned were the biggest sources of imported Omicron cases in Hong Kong since the highly transmissible variant was first detected.

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In the case of the Philippines, for example, all flights coming from Manila and Cebu had already been suspended even before the blanket ban was imposed, for bringing in up to 10 passengers who tested positive on arrival at Hong Kong airport.

Still, Hong Kong’s decision to extend the flight ban comes as a blow for thousands of residents stuck in the eight countries, and had been waiting to be allowed to fly back.

Thousands of Filipino migrant workers have been struggling to get to HK for months

But it is even more devastating for thousands of Filipino migrant workers who have been waiting for months, even years, to take up their jobs in Hong Kong.

Some of them were caught in the first flight ban imposed on the Philippines starting in April 2021 and had been lifted for less than four months before it was put back in place. A lot more were unable to fly out because of the highly limited quarantine places allotted by Hong Kong for incoming foreign domestic workers.

In Hong Kong, those likely to greet the extended gathering restrictions with dismay are restaurant owners whose operating hours will continue to be cut short during the biggest event in the Chinese calendar.

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Equally devastating is the effect it has on those who manage or work in bars, karaokes, beauty parlors, gyms, cinemas, massage parlors, theme parks and other entertainment and leisure venues which will remain shut for the next three weeks.

Residents who had looked forward to having the same treats that they had last year when Chinese New Year events were kept, are also in for a disappointment.

CE Lam said large-scale events such as the New Year fair, which this year is supposed to be held in 15 areas across Hong Kong, as well as spring events, will all be canceled.

But as an appeasement, she said that if the pandemic situation improves in the coming weeks, the government may start easing restrictions from Feb 4.

Beauty parlors and other venues may be allowed to reopen, but may have to operate within a vaccine bubble, which means only those who are vaccinated will be allowed to enter.

Mrs Lam also announced that businesses and individuals affected by the closures and other Covid restrictions can apply for financial assistance starting on Monday under the government’s fifth round of anti-epidemic funding totaling $3.57 billion.

If it becomes necessary, she said the government will ask the Legislative Council for additional funds to distribute to badly hit businesses.

Asked if she could give a guarantee on when quarantine-free travel in Hong Kong could resume, Lam said nobody could give that assurance.

Hong Kong has been fighting Covid-19 for the past two years, and during that time, she said the city has managed to keep its infection rate down to just 4% of the total cases worldwide.

“So we have been doing our very best but we cannot guarantee (that) because the virus is changing very rapidly,” she said.

Huwag ibale-wala ang CTN; may multang $5,000

 

Kung nakatira o napunta ka sa isang lugar na may Covid-19 na kaso ay isasailalim ka sa CTN 

 Nasa isang lugar ka ba na nagkaroon ng kaso ng Covid-19 at naisama sa compulsory testing notice (CTN) ng gobyerno?

Gaya ng lahat ng tao na nasa lugar sa naturang araw at oras, ang mga foreign domestic helper ay obligadong sumunod sa CTN at magpa-test, ayon sa Prevention and Control of Disease (Compulsory Testing for Certain Persons) Regulation (Cap. 599J).

Ang obligasyong ito ay istriktong ipinapataw sa lahat, bakunado man o hindi, ayon sa Labour Department.

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Ipinaalala ng LD sa mga FDH na pagmumultahin ng $5,000 ang mga mahuling hindi magpa test ayon sa CTN. Bibigyan din sila ng compulsory testing order, at kung hindi pa rin nila ito sundan, ang multa ay aakyat sa $25,000 at may kasama pang pagkakakulong ng anim na buwan.

Nagpaalala rin ang Labour Department na laging magsuot ng face mask at umiwas sa malalaking  kumpol ng tao. Ayon sa pinakahuling patakaran, hanggang apat na tao lang ang puwedeng magsama sa mga pampublikong lugar.

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Sa Jan 15 at 16, muling iikot ang ilang taga-gobyerno na mayroong sound system upang paalalahanan ang mga FDH tungkol dito sa nakagawian nilang puntahan sa Central, Tamar Park sa  Admiralty, Victoria Park sa  Causeway Bay, Tsuen Wan Park, sa footbridge malapit sa Fa Yuen Street sa Mong Kok at iba pa.

Ito ay ginagawa sa pagtutulungan ng Labour Department, Hong Kong Police Force, Food and Environmental Hygiene Department, Home Affairs Department at  Leisure and Cultural Services Department.

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“We remind FDHs to strictly observe the requirements and appeal to them to avoid gatherings (including those in boarding facilities), food sharing and other social activities on their rest days and holidays, and stay at home for rest as far as possible in order to safeguard their personal health and reduce the risk of infection. We also encourage employers and FDHs to discuss rest day arrangements, so as to minimise the health risk of participating in social activities," ayon sa LD.

Pinaalalahanan din ng Labour ang mga employer na bawal piliting magtrabaho ang kanilang DH  sa araw ng pahinga,  o pagkaitan sila ng day-off.

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Ang mga lalabag sa panuntunang ito na nakapaloob sa Employment Ordinance, ay papatawan ng multa na aabot sa $50,000.

HK’s new Covid-19 cases drop to single digit

By The SUN 

Only 9 new cases were reported today, but officials still urge caution

Hong Kong has reported nine new coronavirus cases, the first time in more than two weeks that the daily figure has dropped to single digit. Six of the cases were imported and the rest were local, with possible imported links.

Fewer than 10 preliminary positive cases were also recorded.

The figures which were disclosed at today’s press briefing by the Centre for Health Protection prompted the oft-repeated question of whether Hong Kong has managed to contain the Omicron-fuelled outbreak in the community.

CHP controller Dr Edwin Hui replied that there could still be silent transmissions that they were not aware of, so it was difficult to say if the outbreak has already been put under control.

“At present, although the number of local Omicron cases has been steady, or a little bit reduced, we don’t know if there is still silent transmission in some parts of Hong Kong. So we cannot say at present that the transmission has been contained,” he said.

Hui urged everyone to remain vigilant.

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Yesterday, CHP’s infectious disease chief Dr Chuang Shuk-kwan also reminded the media that the reason there has been a decline in the number of confirmed cases being reported is because Hong Kong has stopped passenger flights from eight countries.

Before the flight ban, the biggest number of Omicron cases detected in Hong Kong involved travelers from these countries, which include the United States, United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, France, India, Pakistan and the Philippines.

Among those reported as confirmed cases today is that of a 20-year-old nurse who assisted a doctor in examining a young boy who had symptoms at his clinic in Gold Coast, Tuen Mun. The boy was not tested and was found infected a few days later.

But another young nurse who worked in the same clinic chain in Tuen Mun as her infected colleague, was found to be a false positive case.

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Chuang said the sample taken from the nurse that tested positive was contaminated with a vaccine strain, and this was confirmed in a second test done by Hong Kong University microbiologist Dr Yuen Kwok-yung.

Another confirmed case is that of a construction site worker who was involved in a traffic accident and tested positive just before undergoing surgery at Prince of Wales hospital.

The Pakistani patient who worked at a construction site and delivered food on the side has already tested negative twice, and experts think he may be a re-positive case, or that he was infected previously without him being aware of it.

Chuang, Tsui and Hospital Authority's Lau Ka-hin at the briefing

She also reported new developments from the genome sequencing of some local cases, including that of a female aircraft cleaner whose source of infection was previously unknown.

Genetic analysis showed that the cleaner had acquired her infection from a previously confirmed patient who arrived on Jan 4 in HK aboard CX845, making it an import-linked case.

Chuang said the earlier patient, identified as Case No 12771, had occupied seat 46K of the aircraft which was in the section which the second patient, Case No 12908, was assigned to clean.

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A complete genome sequencing also linked the three cases at Maple Gardens 3 in North Point together. The index patient in this case was in turn linked to a super spreader in the dance cluster who had dined in the Six Garden restaurant in Tin Hau as he did.

Among the preliminary positive cases was a 51-year-old colleague of the female security guard at Penny’s Bay Quarantine Centre whose infection was also tracked through genetic analysis to an infected person on whose door she had tacked a notice.

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The second security guard often had lunch with her infected colleague and did the same job as she. Chuang said investigations are being carried out to confirm if she had caught the virus from her friend.

Another preliminary case involved a close contact of an infected person who lives in Phoenix Garden in the North District. Chuang said there are now two units affected in the same block, and expers are looking into whether the transmission had occurred within the building.

Earlier, fears that silent transmission had been going on in Tuen Mun was further fueled by the two nurses testing preliminary positive earlier. The district has been designated as “high risk” and all residents there urged to get tested.

Health experts tracking down the spread of the highly infectious new variant have revealed that at least 11 recently confirmed cases live in Tuen Mun.

Nine of them are linked to the outbreak at Moon Palace restaurant in Kowloon Tong, whose index case was a Cathay Pacific air crew member who had lunch there with two relatives while supposedly on home isolation.

At least five are tied to the so-called dance cluster, sparked by a newly arrived female Cathay flight crew who infected her unvaccinated mother, who then spread it to several friends with whom she regularly danced in Causeway Bay.

Hundreds of residents have been put under compulsory testing orders amid the spread of the virus in their district, and many have complained about the long queues.

In a bid to encourage them to get tested at home, the government announced on Friday that it would distribute 3,000 free rapid test kits to residents.  However, these are meant to just allow them to detect possible infections, and do not take the place of the swab tests required in mandatory testing.

Two Tuen Mun nurses test positive for Covid-19

By Daisy CL Mandap 

Thousands of Tuen Mun residents line up for tests amid fears of silent transmissions (RTHK photo)

The Omicron-fueled spread of the coronavirus in Tuen Mun appears to be widening, with two nurses being reported as having tested preliminary positive on Thursday, Jan 13.

Speaking at the daily press briefing, Dr Chuang Shuk-kwan of the Centre for Health Protection said the two female patients worked for the same clinic chain in Tuen Mun where they also live, but they had no overlapping duties.

One of them, a 21-year-old parttime nurse, assisted a doctor in his clinic at Gold Coast Piazza on Jan 3 in examining an 11-year-old boy with symptoms wearing only a surgical mask.

The boy was not given a test and he was confirmed infected on Jan 12. He was believed to have caught the virus from his father who sold a bottle of shampoo to an infected Cathay flight crew at his dispensary in the H.A.N.D.S. mall in Tuen Mun. The father infected his wife and a daughter as well.

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Chuang said the Jan. 3 examination of the boy was the likely source of the nurse’s infection, even if she stood behind the doctor a few feet away.

The nurse worked parttime at various clinics in the chain and attended classes at Baptist University’s School of Continuing Education.

The second nurse, who is 22, also worked at the clinic chain, but was on different shifts.

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“As for how the second nurse got infected, it’s possible that there was some silent transmission in the clinic,” Chuang said.

As a precaution, everyone who worked with the two nurses during the incubation period will be quarantined, she said.

Their residential blocks, identified as JC Place Tower 1, 345 Castle Peak Road – Castle Peak Bay and Block 2, Hoi Tak Gardens, 13-17 Wing Fat Lane, both in Tuen Mun, have been put on overnight lockdown.

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Meanwhile, the case involving a female security guard at Penny’s Bay Quarantine Centre who also lives in Tuen Mun showed how fast Omicron could be passed on.

She tested negative for the virus on Jan 8 as part of the regular screening for camp staff. The next day, she posted a notice on the room door of a guest who tested positive afterwards, with just a screen partition between them. She developed symptoms on Jan 10 and tested positive on Jan 12.

Press for details

Genome sequencing directly linked her to the infected guest, causing her case to be labeled import-related instead of untraceable.

The outbreak in Tuen Mun sparked fears of a silent transmission and led experts to advise residents in the district to undergo testing.

4 doctors at Prince of Wales who checked on the maskless patient will be quarantined

Another preliminary positive case that is causing concern is that of a 29-year-old Pakistani male who worked at a construction site and doubled as a Panda food delivery crew.

The man met an accident and was rushed to the Pamela Youde Nethersole Eastern Hospital where he was put under intensive care. He was then moved to Prince of Wales Hospital for an emergency surgery.

In line with standard procedure, he was tested and was found positive with a low viral load initially, before giving a Ct reading of 13, which indicated he was highly infectious. Subsequent tests all returned a negative result, however.

Chuang said the man is suspected to be a re-positive case but further investigations are being carried out. As a precaution, patients who shared a cubicle with him in the hospital were all moved to isolation rooms.

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But four doctors at Prince of Wales who examined him while he was maskless were sent to quarantine.

The CHP reported 14 Covid-19 cases for the day, five of them local transmissions. They took Hong Kong’s total tally to 13,016.

Asked if the decline in the number of cases indicated that the latest outbreak had been contained, Chuang said it was too early to say simply because links were found among the locally detected infections.

“They were detected in the community, so they spent some time in the community and that would also cause some transmission,” she said.

She also reminded everyone that Hong Kong has imposed a ban on passenger flights coming from eight countries, which could be the real reason why fewer cases were being reported.

Filipina in Central bus crash set to go home after surviving serious head injury

by Daisy CL Mandap 

Lyn's thick long hair had to be shaved so doctors could open her skull and operate

She may have spent Christmas and New Year in hospital because of the horrific head injury she sustained after being hit by a KMB bus in Central on Dec 5, but Lyn B. is still glad to be alive.

After having part of her skull removed to release a blood clot in her brain and spending more than a month at the Maclehose Medical Rehabilitation Centre in Pokfulam, Lyn is set to go back to her employer’s house in Hang Hau tomorrow, Jan. 14.

Lyn, 33, knows she is lucky twice over. She not only survived her injuries despite being listed as critical initially and getting intubated, she also got to keep her job. Her employer of one year has been in touch with her on a regular basis and told her not to worry about the hospital bills.

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She also had friends and family members who worried over her, and even told her to just go home to recover if she wanted to.

But the incident also gave her time to reflect on her mistakes that led to her being hit by the bus at high speed at about midnight on that Sunday.

Lyn admits she was drunk and did not use the pedestrian crossing when she sprinted from the Li Yuen alleys and dashed across Des Voeux Road Central to get to the other side.

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She, along with a Filipino domestic worker who was apparently only slightly hurt, were hit by a speeding west-bound KMB bus no 111 at about 11:57pm that day. The impact was such  the left windshield of the vehicle was shattered and it had to be towed away.

“Lesson learned po,” Lyn told The SUN over the phone. “Kasalanan ko naman talaga yun.” (I’ve learned by lesson. I admit it was my fault).

Police said then that the 58-year-old bus driver was held for questioning but was not arrested.

Lyn said she had been drinking with friends and rushed to catch the MTR home at about midnight. She was the first to leave the gathering and was alone when she crossed the street. She didn’t know the Filipino man who was struck by the bus at the same time.

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A similar incident happened just two Sundays earlier, when another Filipino man described by the police as drunk, was hit at exactly the same spot. Judging from videos taken by bystanders he was not as seriously hurt as Lyn and the other man involved in the same bus crash.

Lyn was rushed to Queen Mary Hospital unconscious and had to be operated on to release the pressure on a burst artery in her brain.

A picture taken shortly after the surgery showed a big part of her skull had been sliced open to stop the bleeding inside. She was told she would have to go back to the hospital for another surgery so that part her artery that had been clipped out could be put back once it has healed.

Lyn is grateful to friends and relatives who comforted her while she was in hospital

Lyn, a single mother of two girls, was initially worried about not getting her full pay while in hospital. But help could be coming her way.

She has been advised to apply for financial help through a little-known program by the Social Welfare Department called the Traffic Accident Victims Assistance scheme, which provides compensation to victims of vehicular accidents who are in Hong Kong legally.

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The fund pays all victims, regardless of whether they were partly to blame for the accident, for as long as they were injured and had to hospitalized for at least three days. The family of those who died from such accidents could also seek help.

The amount would depend on the injuries sustained, the victim’s income and financial impact on their dependents.

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Apart from this possible payout, Lyn said her employer had told her about making a claim against the FDH insurance taken out in her name.

For now, however, Lyn is more than happy enough to have come out of the incident alive and to be able to continue working in Hong Kong to provide for her daughters’ needs.