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by Nioucha ZAKAVATI Agence France Presse HONG KONG, China (AFP) — Janice Obiang stifled sobs as she packed goods to send to the Philippines, gifts for loved ones she hasn’t seen in years as life for domestic workers in virus-hit Hong Kong goes from bad to worse. Few have suffered more during Hong Kong’s pandemic restrictions than the hundreds of thousands of women from the Philippines and Indonesia who work as domestic helpers. And […]
HONG KONG, China (AFP) — Hong Kongers stripped supermarket shelves bare Tuesday as panic buying set in following mixed messaging from the government over whether it plans a lockdown this month. Uncertainty over Covid rules has sent the city’s residents flocking to supermarkets, chemists and vegetable stores to stock up, leaving shelves empty across the city. Photos circulating on social media showed people had trouble finding a variety of items including meat, vegetables, frozen foods, […]
by Jerome TAYLOR Agence France Presse HONG KONG, China (AFP) — Hong Kong may impose a China-style hard lockdown that confines people to their homes, authorities signalled Monday, with the city’s zero-Covid strategy in tatters and bodies piling up in hospitals. Two years of strict zero-Covid policies kept the coronavirus largely bay but a breakthrough of the highly transmissible Omicron variant exposed how little authorities had done to prepare for a mass outbreak. Hong […]
by Su Xinqi and Jerome Taylor HONG KONG, China (AFP) — Hong Kong’s finance chief on Wednesday unveiled a costly HK$170 billion ($21.79 billion) budget, including tax breaks and consumer spending vouchers, as the city reels under its worst coronavirus outbreak to date. While rival finance centres emerging from pandemic isolation and reopening to the world, Hong Kong has found itself overwhelmed by the highly infectious Omicron variant after the city’s previously successful zero-Covid strategy […]
(Eagle News) — The Philippines will report to Hong Kong authorities those Hong Kong employers who push through with the termination of Overseas Filipino Workers who tested positive for COVID-19. Overseas Workers Welfare Administration chief Hans Cacdac said the termination, after all, of the Filipinos was illegal under Hong Kong law since “hindi sila dapat i-terminate kasi pwede naman mag-SL (sick leave) o di kaya makabalik after nila mag-recover.” So far, 76 Filipinos in Hong […]
by Jerome Taylor and Su Xinqi HONG KONG, China (AFP) — Hong Kong parents are being separated from children and babies who test positive for the coronavirus, compounding public anger over the financial hub’s lack of readiness for a major outbreak now sweeping the city. The densely populated metropolis is in the throes of its worst-ever Covid wave, registering thousands of cases every day as hospitals and isolation units run out of space. A strict […]
HONG KONG, China (AFP) — Hong Kong’s population must undergo three rounds of compulsory coronavirus testing, the city’s leader said Tuesday, as she confirmed that mainland Chinese officials were now coordinating the response to the financial hub’s worst outbreak. The densely populated metropolis is in the throes of a record virus surge with thousands of confirmed cases every day as hospitals and isolation units run out of space. On Tuesday, Chief Executive Carrie Lam revealed […]
MANILA, Philippines (AFP) — The Philippines’ top diplomat in Hong Kong said Tuesday it was illegal and “immoral” for residents to fire and turf out domestic workers who test positive for the coronavirus, as the Chinese city endures its worst outbreak yet. Charities said last week that foreign domestic workers in the wealthy city were being “abandoned” amid the Covid-19 wave, with some forced to sleep outdoors or being denied treatment after testing positive. Residents […]
HONG KONG, China (AFP) — Hong Kong will launch a vaccine pass scheme this week, officials said Monday, as hospitals struggle under an Omicron-fuelled outbreak and the finance hub sees record-high departures. The densely populated metropolis is currently in the throes of its worst-ever coronavirus outbreak, registering thousands of confirmed cases every day as hospitals and isolation units run out of space. Starting Thursday, all residents aged 12 and above entering restaurants and clubhouses […]
by Jerome TAYLOR Agence France Presse HONG KONG, China (AFP) — Hong Kong’s foreign domestic workers are being “abandoned” in the current coronavirus wave sweeping the city, with some forced to sleep rough or being denied treatment after testing positive, charities said Friday. The warning came as Hong Kong’s leader Carrie Lam told residents to encourage helpers to stay indoors and said police would step up social distancing fines. The Chinese financial hub is […]
HONG KONG, China (AFP) — Construction crews from mainland China were helping Hong Kong build two temporary isolation facilities to house thousands of coronavirus patients on Sunday as a senior official declared the city “in full combat mode”. The crowded Chinese financial hub is in the throes of its worst-ever coronavirus outbreak, registering thousands of confirmed cases a day as hospitals reach breaking point. A strict zero-Covid policy like China uses kept infections at […]
HONG KONG, China (AFP) — Chinese leader Xi Jinping has called for Hong Kong to take “all necessary measures” to control an Omicron-fuelled Covid-19 outbreak, Beijing-affiliated newspapers in the city said Wednesday, a day after leader Carrie Lam ruled out a China-style hard lockdown. Hong Kong is currently in the throes of its worst-ever coronavirus outbreak, registering over a thousand confirmed cases a day as hospitals reach their breaking point. Lam this week insisted a […]
