Restos call for relaxing restrictions as Covid cases drop below 4k

By The SUN

 

Restaurants want to sit more people together and for restrictions on their opening hours removed

Health authorities reported an additional 3,897 Covid-19 cases on Sunday, of which 117 were imported.

The new tally, which was reported in a government press statement, was down sharply from the 5,190 recorded on Saturday.

Separately, the Hospital Authority reported 10 patients with Covid who passed away.

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As of this morning, a total of 2,066 patients are being treated in public hospitals. Among them, 39 are critically ill, including 13 who are receiving intensive care, and 40 are in serious condition.

Meanwhile, five groups representing the catering industry called on Chief Executive John Lee  earlier today to ease Covid restrictions on restaurants.

In a letter, the groups asked that the maximum number of people allowed to sit together in eateries to be raised to 12 from the current 8, and for the scrapping of the 120-people limit for banquets and the restrictions on opening hours.

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They also asked for the lifting of the ban on live shows and other related restrictions in catering premises.

They warned that more restaurants and bars would close down and more people sacked from their jobs, if the restrictions are not eased soon.

"The epidemic restrictions on catering businesses have remained the same since a round of easing in May, and residents' willingness to spend in restaurants have not been recovering," they said in their joint letter to the CE.

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Apart from the decline in patronage, they said restaurant owners have been hit by rising costs due to inflation that they are having a hard time keeping their businesses running.

With the easing of the travel restrictions, they fear a bigger decline in their business by Christmas, as people could just opt to travel abroad to celebrate, instead of having to cope with local regulations on masking and public gatherings.

"The catering industry may face an unprecedented critical situation, a new round of severe winter," the groups said in their letter.

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Those who made the appeal were the Association of Restaurant Managers, the Hong Kong Federation of Restaurants and Related Trades, the Association for Hong Kong Catering Services Management, the Institute of Dining Professionals and the Hong Kong Japanese Restaurant Association.

Separately, Health Secretary Lo Chung-mau said in a TV interview that officials are studying whether local social-distancing measures could be relaxed soon, amid the decline in infections.

But he ruled out a further easing of regulations on inbound travelers, saying Hong Kong must keep out new Covid variants that are emerging overseas.

While mandatory hotel quarantine has been scrapped, along with the negative PCR test result prior to boarding a flight to Hong Kong, travelers are still required to undergo several Covid tests on arrival, and during the next seven days.

On the first three days upon arrival, travelers will also be given an amber code, which prohibits them from entering high-risk places such as restaurants, churches, hair salons, gyms and other sports facilities.

Lo said that this is because the infection rate among new arrivals is around three percent, compared to one percent locally.

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Super typhoon Karding, magdamag na rumaragasa sa Gitnang Luzon

 (The SUN)

    Ang itinatayang dadaanan ng super typhoon Karding o Noru (HK Observatory photo)

Rumaragasa sa Gitnang Luzon ngayong gabi ang super typhoon Karding (international code name Noru) na may dalang hangin na 185kph na bumubugso hanggang 225kph at malakas na ulan na nag-aamba ng baha at paninira sa mga pananim, ari-arian at mga kalsada sa pinakamalaking pinagkukunan ng pagkain sa bansa.

Maaga pa para malaman ang sinapit ng mga nakatira sa kasalukuyang dinadananan ng bagyo -- Metro Manila, Zambales, Bataan, Tarlac, Pampanga, Nueva Ecija, Bulacan, Aurora, Rizal, at hilagang Quezon -- matapos ito unang tumama sa isla ng Polilio nang bandang 5pm kanina.

Itinatayang lalabas ng bansa si Karding sa Masinloc, Zambales bukas ng umaga.

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Ayon kay DILG Secretary Benhur Abalos, sa panayam sa ABS-CBN, kahapon pa nagsimula ang pagpapalikas ng mga 2,500 na pamilyang nakatira sa mga bahain at mabundok na lugar sa Cordillera Administrative Region, National Capital Region, Region 3 at Region 5, upang makaiwas sa sakuna.

Hindi mararamdaman ng Hong Kong ang supertyphoon, na may international name na Noru, hanggang Miyerkules kapag nasa gitna na ito ng South China Sea papuntang Vietnam, sa pamamagitan ng bugso ng malakas na hangin.

Ang ulan sa Hong Kong na magsisimula sa Martes, pagkatapos na isang mainit na Lunes, ay hindi manggagaling sa bagyo kundi sa northeast monsoon mula sa karagatan na hilagang silangan ng China, ayon sa Hong Kong Observatory.

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Si Karding ang ikatlong supertyphoon na pumasok sa Philippine Area of Responsibility sa sa loob lamang ng nakalipas na tatlong linggo; sumunod ito kina Henry na tumama noong Aug. 31 at Josie noong Sept. 17.

Sundan ang pinakabagong abiso sa bagyong Henry, na umabot sa pinakamataas na Signal No. 5 ngayon, sa https://www.pagasa.dost.gov.ph/tropical-cyclone/severe-weather-bulletin.

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MDWs make final pitch for $6,014 minimum wage

By The SUN

 

A Labour Dept representative accepts the workers' petition after the protest

Migrant domestic workers made their final Sunday pitch for their minimum salary to be raised to $6,014, before the Hong Kong government decides by month’s end on what the new wage level should be.

Four MDW groups took turns to speak outside the central government offices at Tamar this morning, to call on the government to raise their salary from the current $4,630 to what they call a “living wage.”

The groups are also asking for the food allowance of those who are not provided food by their employers to be raised to no less than $3,023.

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Dolores Balladares-Pelaez, spokesperson of Asian Migrants Coordinating Body, said they have been asking for this salary increase for nearly three years now, but because of the pandemic, their wages were instead frozen.

“This amount is not really big and it’s been a campaign of AMCB for three years now,” she said. “We believe that after three years we deserve to live decently in Hong Kong.”

Pelaez pointed out that while permanent residents and new arrivals in Hong Kong were given financial aid to cope with the economic fallout from Covid-19, MDWs were excluded. Thus, they had to dig deep into their own pockets to ensure they remained healthy and fit so they could continue doing their jobs well.

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She also said that having made to work 16 hours each day on average, especially when their employers and family members were told to stay indoors because of surges in the infection, MDWs deserve to be rewarded now.

But she said she is optimistic the Hong Kong government would do right by MDWs by granting their request for a salary increase this time.

“I am really, really hopeful and optimistic that the Hong Kong government will give what we are asking for, ” she said.

The groups observed social distancing during their protest outside the Central Govt Offices in Tamar

Another speaker, Cherry Cataluna of the Filipino Migrant Workers Union, chided the HK government for not recognizing the sacrifices made by MDWs at the height of the pandemic.

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“During the pandemic, MDWs continued to work despite the threat to their own health, but this effort has not been appreciated,” she said.

Cataluna also pointed out that even MDWs have to cope with the financial hardship caused by the pandemic because they spend part of their salaries for public transportation and buying food and other necessities on their days off.

The speakers also included Thai and Indonesian migrant workers, and each group had four members who stood together to hold up banners in compliance with the restrictions on public gathering.

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The protest ended after a Labour Department representative accepted a signed petition outlining the migrant workers’ demands.

The new MAW has traditionally been announced by the government at the end of September, for implementation in October each year.

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CHP reports more than 5k cases, signals end to daily Covid briefings

By The SUN

 

CHP's Dr Chuang led most of the daily press briefings on the pandemic

After two and a half years of giving daily press briefings on the coronavirus spread in Hong Kong, health officials signed off today, as they reported 5,190 new infections.

Dr Chuang Shuk-kwan of the Centre for Health Protection, who had mostly steered the press conference held every 4:30pm every day, including Sundays and public holidays, announced that they would be issuing press releases on new infection figures starting tomorrow.

However, she said officials would still meet the press if necessary.

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She also said it was not likely that Hong Kong could go back to having zero infections, when asked for a reaction to a government health adviser’s comment that Covid has become endemic.

“I think whether it’s become endemic depends on the situation worldwide because Hong Kong is an open place,” Chuang said.

“Right now we still have several thousand cases [a day], and it’d be rather unlikely for us to go back to zero... From what we can see now it seems we will have to co-exist with Covid for sometime," said Chuang.

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She declined to respond to a question on how they felt leading Hong Kong’s vigorous campaign to ward off the pandemic, saying it was inappropriate, but thanked the public for their patience and cooperation.

 “I hope everyone can keep up that way and work hard so that we can all resume our normal lives soon,” Chuang said.

She noted how people in Hong Kong had helped reduce the number of cases of Covid and other upper respiratory diseases like the flu through mask wearing and frequent hand-washing or using hand sanitizers.

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“I hope this is the last Covid-19 press conference and want to take this chance to wish everyone good health and happy lives.”

The daily press briefings were halted briefly just before the third wave of infections, but were resumed when the cases started shooting up again.

Hospital Authority’s Dr Gladys Kwan reported seven new deaths, involving six men and a woman aged 72 to 93. They pushed the death toll in the fifth wave to 9,893.

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Kwan also explained that the HA had to add 153 Covid-related deaths after reviewing their data from the height of the fifth wave between February and April this year. The overall death toll in Hong Kong has now been pushed up to 10,106.

Kwan also said that 2,114 Covid patients are receiving treatment in hospitals, including 41 who are in critical condition and 34 with severe symptoms. Fourteen of those listed as critical are receiving intensive care.

Of the latest infection tally, 152 were cases that were imported from 33 different countries, of which the following had more than 10: United Kingdom, 25; Singapore, 13; and United States, 12.

Fifty-three of the cases were detected on arrival at HK airport, 55 on days 1 to 3 at quarantine hotels, and 38 between days 4 and 7.

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Maaari pa ring ipa-quarantine ang mga paparating na FDHs, pero dapat bayaran

Ng The SUN

 

Kailangang sagutin ng employer ang lahat ng gastos sa quarantine ng FDH, at swelduhan ito

Simula sa umaga ng Lunes, Sept. 26, ay tatanggalin na ang hotel quarantine at negative PCR o swab test sa lahat ng mga paparating sa Hong Kong, kabilang ang mga foreign domestic helper (FDHs).

Ang kailangan lang nilang gawin bago pasakayin sa eroplano papunta ng Hong Kong ay magpakita ng negative result sa rapid antigen test (self-test) na kinuha sa loob ng nagdaang 24 oras, at magsumite ng health declaration online. (Nandito ang link para dito: 香港特別行政區衞生署 健康及檢疫資訊申報 HKSAR Department of Health Health & Quarantine Information Declaration (chp.gov.hk)

Pero ayon sa isang pahayag ng Labour Department na inilabas ngayong araw ng Sabado, may karapatan ang isang employer na ipasailalim pa rin sa quarantine ang kanilang FDH pagdating nila sa Hong Kong ng hanggang pitong araw.

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Hindi na ito kailangang ihingi ng employer ng permiso sa Labour, pero dapat ay (1) bayaran nila ang hotel, boarding house o ano pa mang lugar kung saan nila gustong mag quarantine ang kanilang FDH at bigyan nila ng food allowance; at (2) suwelduhan ito batay sa kanilang kontrata.

Nandito ang listahan ng mga lisensyadong guest houses sa Hong Kong: Office of the Licensing Authority - Hotels/ Guesthouses - Overview (hadla.gov.hk)

Kung piliin ng employer na hindi na ipa quarantine ang kanilang FDH ay kailangang patuluyin nila ito sa kanilang bahay, at sundan ang mga patakaran sa lahat ng mga bagong dating.

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Ibig sabihin, maari nang mag-umpisang magtrabaho ang FDH, lumabas ng bahay, sumakay sa mga pampublikong sasakyan at pumasok sa mga lugar na hindi kailangan ng verification code sa ilalim ng vaccine pass.

Pero katulad ng ibang bagong dating, hindi ito makakapasok sa mga restaurant, simbahan, eskwela at iba pang mga lugar na tinatawag na “high risk” kung saan may pangalawang pag-scan ng kanilang QR code para sila makapasok.

Kapag patuloy silang mag negatibo sa mga test ay malilipat sila sa “blue code” sa ika-apat na araw, at libre na silang pumasok kahit sa mga pinagbabawal na mga lugar na ito – kung may booster o ikatlong bakuna na sila.

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Sa kanilang pagdating ay isasailalim sila sa PCR test sa airport, at kailangan nila itong ulitin sa ika-2, 4 at 6 na araw pagkadating. Dapat nila itong gawin kahit naka-quarantine sila sa utos ng kanilang employer, kung hindi ay papagmultahin sila ng $10,000.

Ipinapatupad ng gobyerno ang ganitong patakaran dahil nauunawan daw nila na may mga employer na kailangan ng ibayong paghihigpit sa pagpapasok ng ibang tao sa kanilang bahay dahil mayroon silang maliliit na anak o kasamang may edad na delikadong tamaan ng Covid-19.

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Para sa iba pang detalye, narito ang pahayag mula sa gobyerno: https://www.info.gov.hk/gia/general/202209/24/P2022092400139.htm

Maari ding kumuha ng impormasyon tungkol sa mga papasok na FDH dito: www.fdh.labour.gov.hk – o tumawag sa hotline ng Labour Department,  2717 1771, mag email sa fdh-enquiry@labour.gov.hk o diretso sa kanilang website: www.fdh.labour.gov.hk.

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156 new arrivals among 5,387 additional Covid infections

By The SUN 

About a third of the imported cases were detected at the airport (RTHK File)

Within minutes after Chief Executive John Lee announced the scrapping of hotel quarantine for inbound travelers, health officials reported 156 new imported Covid-19 cases, all but five testing positive within seven days from arrival.

The imported cases pushed up the daily infection tally to 5,387 - which means the imported cases made up about 2.9 percent of the total caseload.

The figures appeared to support CE Lee’s decision to continue the health surveillance of new arrivals until a week after landing in Hong Kong.

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While the hotel quarantine has been scrapped, inbound travelers will be put under the amber code until day 3, and asked to undergo PCR tests on arrival, and on days 2, 4 and 6.

Today’s figures for imported cases seem to bear out the need to keep monitoring new arrivals to ensure they are not infected and pose a risk to the community.

Of the 156 cases,49 were detected at the airport, 64 during days 1 to 3, and 38 on days 4 to 7. An additional five cases were found after this period, but are suspected to be re-positive cases due to their high Ct value.

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The travelers came from 38 countries, of which four had more than 10 cases each: United Kingdom, 24; United States, 22; and the Philippines and Thailand, 14.

Dr Gladys Kwan of the Hospital Authority reported 12 related deaths, involving nine males and three females aged 45 to 93. The took the death tally from the fifth wave to 9,733.

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Kwan said 2,228 patients are receiving treatment in public hospitals, of whom 45 are in critical condition and 34 in serious condition. Fifteen of those listed as critical are in intensive care units.

Dr Chuang Shuk-kwan of the Centre for Health Protection reported that the dominant sub-variant, BA.5 has been found in nearly 80% of the cases, which explains why the infection rate is now declining.

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As a result of this, Kwan said the HA will resume services at four outpatient clinics that had been temporary closed when the infection surged in mid-August. Night services at some clinics will also resume.

At the same time, the eight designated clinics for Covid will continue operating, as well as the tele-consult services for infected patients.

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Pinay na nakalimot daw magbayad sa grocery, isinantabi ang kaso

 

Nanatiling malinis ang rekord ng Pilipina matapos dinggin ang kaso niya sa West Kowloon Courts

Hindi niya nabayaran ang kinuha niyang pagkain sa isang grocery na nagkakahalaga ng $94.70 dahil nalimutan daw niya, ayon sa isang Pilipina na humarap sa West Kowloon Magistrates’ Court sa Cheung Sha Wan ngayon (Sept. 23), sa kasong pagnanakaw.

Dahil sa kanyang paliwanag ay minabuti ng taga-usig na iatras na lang ang kaso laban kay G. Reyes, 47 taong gulang at domestic helper, sa kundisyon na hindi na siya lalabag muli sa batas sa loob ng isang taon. Kung hindi niya ito susundin ay pagmumultahin siya ng $1,000 at idadagdag pa ang parusa para sa bago niyang kaso.

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Hinuli si Reyes noong hapon ng Aug 12 nang makita ng isang nagpapatrulyang pulis na kinuha niya ang tatlong pakete ng pagkain sa tindahan ng ParkNShop Fusion sa Sham Mong Road sa Cheung Sha Wan at umalis nang hindi nagbabayad.

Nang imbestigahan siya ay ipinaliwanad niya na nakalimot lang siya at ipinakitang may $653 siya sa bulsa, na sobra sobrang pambayad sa kinuha niya. Gayunpaman, itinuloy pa rin ng pulis ang sakdal sa kanya.

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Kinasuhan siya ng paglabag sa Section 9 ng Theft Ordinance, na nagpaparusa sa pagnanakaw ng pagkakakulong ng hanggang 10 taon.

Pero matapos tawagin si Reyes sa korte at basahan ng sakdal, tumayo ang taga-usig at nagmungkahi na isailalim siya sa isang “bound over”, o pagsumpa na hindi na niya uulitin ang ginawa.

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Nang tanungin ni Principal Magistrate Peter Law kung sang-ayon siya sa mungkahi ng taga-usig, sumagot agad si Reyes ng “Yes.”

Matapos sumang-ayon si Reyes ay isinantabi ang kasong muntik nang sumira sa malinis niyang record sa Hong Kong.

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Sa hiwalay na pagdinig sa harap ni Magistrate Law, napagaang ang kaso laban sa isang Pilipino na unang inakusahan ng robbery, o panloloob at pagnanakaw. Ipinalit dito ang mas magaang na kasong “criminal damage”, o paninira.

Naakusahan si Brian Invento, 22 taong gulang at isang waiter, ng pagsira sa kahoy na pintuan ng isang kumpanya sa ika-16 na palapag ng isang gusali sa Sai Yeung Choi St. South sa Mong Kok.

Ipagpapatuloy ang pagdinig sa Nov. 8. Nakakalaya si Invento sa bisa ng piyansang $10,000.

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