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Hong Kong coronavirus: unvaccinated, locally based cargo flight crews can skip quarantine if flying from ‘low-risk’ countries | South China Morning Post
▻https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/transport/article/3129618/hong-kong-coronavirus-unvaccinated-locally-based-cargo

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exclusive | Hong Kong coronavirus: unvaccinated, locally based cargo flight crews can skip quarantine if flying from ‘low-risk’ countries
New rules demand though that they remain segregated from local community while overseas; fully vaccinated aircrews, meanwhile, will be allowed to bypass isolation without that conditionCrews from destinations deemed ‘very high risk’, including Britain and the Philippines, will not be exempted even if they have had two jabs
Why is Hong Kong’s coronavirus ‘vaccine bubble’ plan already drawing flak?
Hong Kong’s latest efforts to incentivise coronavirus vaccinations have proved unpopular with some.
Covid-19 contagion among vaccinated individuals is still being studied but the likelihood of post-vaccination spreading is likely to be reduced.
Hong Kong will allow locally based, unvaccinated cargo flight crews to skip quarantine if they have stayed in six Asia-Pacific countries deemed lower risk, while fully vaccinatedaircrews will also be allowed to bypass isolation, the Post has learned.The new policy, seen in a document obtained by the Post, was revealed hours after the government on Wednesday night tightened criteria for banning flights as well as entry rules for passengers from high-risk countries where new coronavirus
variants have been identified.

#Covid-19#migrant#migration#honkong#grandebretagne#philippines#vaccination#circulation#bulledevoyage#risqueepidemique

Coronavirus: border city chief dismissed for Covid-19 failures as Ruili continues to report new cases | South China Morning Post
▻https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3128727/coronavirus-border-city-chief-dismissed-covid-19-failures-ruili

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Coronavirus: border city chief dismissed for Covid-19 failures as Ruili continues to report new cases. Gong Yunzun was demoted to first-level researcher after three outbreaks in city on Myanmar border, say Yunnan authorities Gong Yunzun was dismissed from the top Communist Party job in Ruili because of his handling of coronavirus outbreaks and prevention measures. Photo: Handout Gong Yunzun was dismissed from the top Communist Party job in Ruili because of his handling of coronavirus outbreaks and prevention measures.
The top Communist Party official of Ruili, the Chinese city bordering Myanmar, has been dismissed from his post over “serious dereliction of duty” after failing to prevent Covid-19 outbreaks in recent months.
“Three Covid-19 outbreaks within half a year in Ruili, especially the epidemic in March, have severely undermined the epidemic control efforts in the country and the province, and seriously hurt the province’s economic and social development,” authorities in the southwestern province of Yunnan said in a statement on Thursday.It said the dismissal of Gong Yunzun, the city’s party chief who bore the main responsibility for leading Covid-19 control efforts, should serve as a warning to other officials.

#Covid-19#migrant#migration#chine#myanmar#sante#circulation#frontiere

Coronavirus: China closes Myanmar border bridge and orders city lockdown after new cluster emerges | South China Morning Post
▻https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3127751/coronavirus-chinese-city-closes-border-bridge-myanmar-and

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Coronavirus: China closes Myanmar border bridge and orders city lockdown after new cluster emerges. Six local Covid-19 infections were reported in Ruili, prompting China to close the bridge linking the city to Myanmar, undertaking a widespread testing program and enforcing lockdown and quarantine measures. Photo: Weibo Six local Covid-19 infections were reported in Ruili, prompting China to close the bridge linking the city to Myanmar, undertaking a widespread testing program and enforcing lockdown and quarantine measures. The health commission of Yunnan province in southwestern China said in a statement that three new asymptomatic cases – which China does not classify as confirmed cases – were found in Ruili, along with the six confirmed infections on Tuesday.
It is the first time since February 5 that China has reported a local cluster. On Wednesday, the National Health Commission said China found 11 new Covid-19 cases on March 30. The other five cases were all imported.
As well as strengthening public health measures, China has been bolstering security as the violent crackdown by Myanmar’s junta causes many Myanmese to flee the country, seeking refuge in China, Thailand and India.
Health authorities said one of the confirmed Covid-19 cases and three of the asymptomatic cases were Myanmese while the rest were Chinese.
Ruili deputy mayor Yang Mou said on Wednesday morning the city would enter a one-week lockdown and that 317 people identified as close contacts were under quarantine for medical observation.Yang said the city expected to complete citywide nucleic acid sampling and testing by late Wednesday night, while provincial authorities had mobilised 1,800 medical personnel from neighbouring cities to help. Deputy police chief Cun Daipeng said nearly 4,000 security personnel had been mobilised to set up checkpoints at major traffic sites and border crossings, including the Jiegao bridge linking Ruili with Myanmar.Lu Qing, a Ruili resident living near the bridge, has been using a loud hailer since Tuesday to remind drivers the bridge is closed and they must turn around. “There were many armed police at the checkpoint and some carrying weapons. They work together with customs in setting up the blockades to seal off the bridge,” Lu said.
Ruili also ordered a lockdown of the local Guomen residential estate in the city. While the official statement did not say how many residents were infected, a shop owner surnamed Huang who lives nearby said he had seen a lot of ambulances come and go since Tuesday. “Many of us had gone through testing since yesterday. I queued until midnight [to get tested]. There were too many people. But there is no panic, as we have experienced this before,” Huang said.Ruili police arrested two residents for smuggling two Myanmese infected with Covid-19 into the city last year and causing local spread, resulting in a week-long lockdown and blanket testing of the whole city from September 14.

#Covid-19#migrant#migration#chine#myanmar#thailande#sante#cluster#frontiere#conflit#circulation

Coronavirus: EU countries work on ‘green passport’ scheme to allow travel during pandemic | South China Morning Post
▻https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3127536/coronavirus-eu-countries-work-green-passport-scheme-allow-travel

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Coronavirus: EU countries work on ‘green passport’ scheme to allow travel during pandemic. The green passports are to be implemented in a consistent way across borders, Austrian Tourism Minister Elisabeth Koestinger said on Monday Koestinger said border-free travel should be possible again in the European Union by summer, after speaking with her colleagues in France, Germany, Greece, Italy and Spain
Q: What you need to know about the Pfizer-BioNTech scare in Hong Kong
People line up to receive the BioNTech jab at the community vaccination centre at Ap Lei Chau Sports Centre.
What you need to know about Hong Kong’s expanded Covid-19 vaccine drive Hong Kong has widened its vaccination scheme, meaning 5.5 million people are now eligible. Photo: Nora Ta
What are booster shots, and could mixing Covid-19 vaccines boost immunity?
Why has Hong Kong’s vaccine drive stumbled, and should side effects concern? Hongkongers line up at a vaccination centre where the newly available BioNTech jab was being administered on Wednesday. Why more contagious Covid-19 variants are emerging
Q: When will Hong Kong, mainland China get Covid-19 shots?
The first of millions of Covid-19 vaccine jabs are expected to arrive in Hong Kong in early 2021.
Q: What do the Sinovac Covid-19 vaccine efficacy results mean?
Confusion surrounds the results of a Sinovac Biotech vaccine clinical trial in Brazil.
Q: What are the coronavirus mRNA vaccines and how do they work?
What are mRNA vaccines, how do they work against Covid-19 and what are their implications for public health?
Q: How many people need a Covid-19 vaccination to halt its spread?
The first Pfizer/BioNTech Covid-19 vaccines for Belgium are defrosted at a hospital. As vaccination against the virus is rolled out around the world, governments will be calculating how much of their people need to receive the vaccine to achieve herd immunity and allow a return to normality.
Q: Vaccines will save 2021? Not so fast, here’s what the experts think
The European Union’s transnational vaccine passport is now a definite reality.
A group of European Union members plans to present a list of priorities for the implementation of a scheme known as the green passport, which would facilitate travel in the bloc despite the coronavirus pandemic. The green passports are to be implemented in a consistent and easy to use way across borders, Austrian Tourism Minister Elisabeth Koestinger said on Monday, after a meeting with 12 other EU tourism ministers in Vienna.
The green passport is a certificate meant to contain information on the holder’s Covid-19 vaccination and test results or previous infections, to facilitate travel.
Koestinger said that border-free travel should be possible again in the European Union by summer, after speaking with her colleagues from countries including France, Germany, Greece, Italy and Spain.She also called for consistent criteria for entry requirements across the EU, for instance regarding the acceptance of a negative coronavirus test to allow travel.
Austria is especially dependent on tourism and has pushed for the EU’s green passport project.“The green passport should be valid and readable at every airport and every hotel in Europe,” Koestinger said.Italy’s tourist industry struggles to survive – ‘even George Clooney doesn’t come any more’ amid the coronavirus pandemicKoestinger said the planned time frame for implementing the passport, which is expected to be be released at the European level on June 1, was ambitious.Germany’s tourism commissioner Thomas Bareiss said Germany fully supported the goal of implementing the passport by June, adding that the certificate using a bar code would bring a basis for security and freedom.Bareiss said the passport should be available to everyone. “In terms of technical access, but also the fact that we need to offer all people a vaccine.”In Austria, a first version is already to be introduced at the end of April, including coronavirus test results. It could be used, for example, to allow visits to the hairdresser.

#Covid-19#migrant#migration#UE#sante#vaccination#passeportvaccinal#circulation#frontière

Shanghai becomes first mainland Chinese city to offer expats coronavirus vaccines | South China Morning Post
▻https://www.scmp.com/news/people-culture/article/3127006/shanghai-becomes-first-mainland-chinese-city-offer-expats

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Shanghai becomes first mainland Chinese city to offer expats coronavirus vaccines. Foreigners who meet the requirements can voluntarily apply from Monday. However, expats will have to bear the costs and risks associated with the vaccine. Shanghai has announced it will provide coronavirus vaccines to expats living in the city. Shanghai has announced it will provide coronavirus vaccines to expats living in the city.
Shanghai has become the first Chinese mainland city to offer Covid-19
vaccines to foreign expats, local authorities have revealed. Foreigners who meet the age requirements can voluntarily apply for the vaccine from Monday.The Shanghai municipal government announced the plan on Tuesday, saying expats would have to bear the costs and risks associated with the vaccine.
Foreigners who want to be vaccinated can book appointments through the Health Cloud, an app run by local health authorities. They will be then informed via text messages of the date, time, and location of their vaccination, the government announced. Foreign nationals who have joined Shanghai’s public medical insurance scheme will be treated the same as Chinese nationals, accessing the vaccines free of charge. Those who are not covered by the insurance scheme will be charged 100 yuan (US$15.30) per dose.Authorities urged the potential recipients of the vaccine to pay close attention to their health within 14 days of inoculation. They warned anyone with an adverse response to the vaccine to go straight to a hospital.
Self-employed Shanghai-based American expat Michael Goffman, 41, said he supported the initiative because he believed that “any person living in China should have access to the vaccine if they wanted to take it”.

#Covid-19#migrant#migration#sante#shangai#etranger#inclusion#vaccination

Coronavirus: Thailand to allow vaccinated tourists to enter Phuket without quarantine | South China Morning Post
▻https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/south-asia/article/3127125/coronavirus-india-suspends-astrazeneca-vaccine-exports-cases

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Coronavirus: Thailand to allow vaccinated tourists to enter Phuket without quarantine. Vaccinated visitors will be permitted to enter from July, after the resort island inoculates 70 per cent of its residents. Elsewhere, India has halted exports of the AstraZeneca vaccine as cases rise, while Indonesia is barring people from going to their hometowns for the Eid al-Fitr
Q: What you need to know about the Pfizer-BioNTech scare in Hong Kong
What you need to know about Hong Kong’s expanded Covid-19 vaccine driveHong Kong has widened its vaccination scheme, meaning 5.5 million people are now eligible. Photo: Nora Tam
What can Hong Kong do to give Covid-19 jabs drive a shot in the arm?
The BioNTech vaccine is one of two types available in Hong Kong.
What are booster shots, and could mixing Covid-19 vaccines boost immunity? Why has Hong Kong’s vaccine drive stumbled, and should side effects concern?
Hongkongers line up at a vaccination centre where the newly available BioNTech jab was being administered on Wednesday.
Q: When will Hong Kong, mainland China get Covid-19 shots?
The first of millions of Covid-19 vaccine jabs are expected to arrive in Hong Kong in early 2021.
Q: What do the Sinovac Covid-19 vaccine efficacy results mean?
Confusion surrounds the results of a Sinovac Biotech vaccine clinical trial in Brazil.
Q: What are the coronavirus mRNA vaccines and how do they work?
What are mRNA vaccines, how do they work against Covid-19 and what are their implications for public health? Photo: AFP
Q: How many people need a Covid-19 vaccination to halt its spread?
The first Pfizer/BioNTech Covid-19 vaccines for Belgium are defrosted at a hospital. As vaccination against the virus is rolled out around the world, governments will be calculating how much of their people need to receive the vaccine to achieve herd immunity and allow a return to normality.
Q: Vaccines will save 2021? Not so fast, here’s what the experts think
Thai authorities agreed on Friday to allow foreigners inoculated against the coronavirusto travel to its biggest holiday island without undergoing quarantine, and announced a new order for five million more doses of AstraZeneca’s vaccine. With arrival numbers plummeting this past year, tourism-reliant Thailand is racing to secure vaccines for its population and reopen the country to foreigners in a pilot project for vaccine passports.
“If we can inoculate 50-60 per cent of the population we can open the country safely and move the economy and tourism forward,” senior health official Kiattiphum Wongraijit said.
Its main vaccination drive is expected to start in June, with the goal of immunising half of its population by year-end.It will receive an additional 5 million AstraZeneca doses, as well as 5 million more doses procured from Sinovac Biotech, the health ministry said on Friday. That would take its overall vaccine order to 73 million doses.The Covid-19 task force on Friday gave the green light to Phuket, a major tourist destination, to receive vaccinated visitors directly from July, without subjecting them to quarantine, after the island inoculates 70 per cent of its residents.

#Covid-19#migrant#migration#thailande#sante#vaccination#tourisme#economie

China’s internet was hailed as a path to democracy but the Communist Party reshaped it in its own image | South China Morning Post
▻https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3125128/chinas-internet-was-hailed-path-democracy-communist-party

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Le gouvernement contrôle Internet de plus en plus fortement

Since the 1990s, the Chinese government has built and used the so-called Great Firewall
, a sophisticated system that prevents people from accessing unwanted foreign websites and social media, including Google, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and most mainstream Western news outlets. The South China Morning Post website is also blocked on the mainland.

Zhuang is deputy director of the party’s publicity department and head of the Cyberspace Administration of China.

“Very few ruling parties in the world are as active as the Communist Party of China in adapting to the information revolution trend and emphasising the development and governance of internet,” he said.

▻https://youtu.be/ajR9J9eoq34

La population semble être peu sensibilisée ou concernée

But for many people, any concerns about how content on the internet could be shaped or filtered by political forces are secondary to its entertainment value. Tang Feng, a 32-year-old food delivery worker, said that other than the fact that his job relied on the internet – which facilitates everything from receiving food orders to navigating to restaurants – he watched “funny videos” on his phone to pass the time between deliveries.

#chine #internet #censure

Covid-19: China launches digital health certificates for overseas travel | South China Morning Post
▻https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3124726/covid-19-china-launches-digital-health-certificates-overseas

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Covid-19: China launches digital health certificates for overseas travel
. WeChat-based system uses QR codes to show travellers’ coronavirus and antibody test results and whether they have been vaccinated China ready to discuss ‘the establishment of mutual recognition mechanisms’ with other countries, foreign ministry says. China has launched a digital health certificate that it hopes will help make foreign travel easier for its citizens. Photo: EPA-EFE China has launched a digital health certificate that it hopes will help make foreign travel easier for its citizens.
China has launched a digital health certificate for its citizens that they might one day be able to use as a “vaccine passport”, as countries around the world embark on inoculation programmes and consider ways to reopen their borders.
The certificates, which work though the WeChat social media platform, include details of users’ coronavirusand antibody test results and whether they have been vaccinated against Covid-19, ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian told a press briefing. All of the information is encrypted in a QR code that can be verified, decrypted and read using a public key provided by the issuing authority, he said.The digital document, which is available only to Chinese nationals, could then be provided to the relevant authorities overseas as evidence of a person’s health status, he said. “China stands ready to discuss with other countries the establishment of mutual recognition mechanisms for health code information on the basis of accommodating each other’s concerns,” Zhao said.The launch of the programme comes after it was announced by Foreign Minister Wang Yi at a press conference held on the sidelines of the National People’s Congress
in Beijing.

#Covid-19#migrant#migration#Chine#sante#passeportvaccinal#frontiere

Coronavirus: Hongkongers may have to wait up to six months to resume travel, top tourism official warns | South China Morning Post
▻https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/hong-kong-economy/article/3123814/coronavirus-hongkongers-may-have-wait-six-months

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Hongkongers may have to wait three to six months to travel again, and even then with conditions attached, despite the city recently launching its Covid-19 vaccination programme
and the health crisis appearing to ease, according to a top official at the tourism board.Executive director Dane Cheng Ting-yat also said a wave of local tours and hotel staycation offers would soon be launched as part of the government’s HK$1.13 billion (US$145 million) drive to reboot the devastated industry.Until the third quarter, Hongkongers would be largely limited to spending holidays locally and rediscovering the city through outdoor activities, wandering around neighbourhoods, or taking staycations, he said.“My guess is in the next three to six months, only very slowly, certain conditional travel will be allowed,” the Hong Kong Tourism Board chief said in an interview with the Post. “Our assumption is that the pandemic is not going away this year, but vaccination can ease the outbreak to a large extent.”

#Covid-19#migrant#migration#hongkong#sante#tourisme#economie#pandemie#vaccination#circulation#frontiere

Chinese students weigh overseas options as Covid-19 and US visa limits take toll: report | South China Morning Post
▻https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3123803/chinese-students-weigh-overseas-options-covid-19-and-us-visa

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Chinese students weigh overseas options as Covid-19 and US visa limits take toll: report Trump administration’s restrictions on academics have contributed to almost stagnant growth in the number of Chinese students heading to the US, think tank says. Some parents are ‘opting for international schools in China’ rather than sending their children elsewhere
The decline in growth in the number of Chinese students studying the US is directly related to the Trump administration’s restrictions, according to a Beijing-based think tank. Photo: Xinhua The decline in growth in the number of Chinese students studying the US is directly related to the Trump administration’s restrictions, according to a Beijing-based think tank.
The decline in growth in the number of Chinese students studying the US is directly related to the Trump administration’s restrictions, according to a Beijing-based think tank.
Growth in the once-booming business of educating Chinese students in the United States has slowed dramatically as the US’ handling of the coronavirus
and American visa restrictions have taken their toll, according to a report by a Beijing-based think tank.The growth in the number of Chinese students studying in the US plunged to less than 1 per cent last year, and some parents were opting for international schools in China rather than sending their children overseas, the report said.
“Political factors will affect the trend of Chinese students going to the US,” the Centre for China and Globalisation said in a report published jointly with the Institute of Development Studies at Southwestern University of Finance and Economics.“The Trump administration [discriminated] against Chinese students, especially those in the tech and postgraduate sectors. It has also imposed strict restrictions on Chinese students on government sponsorship, restricting normal international education and exchanges.”
It also said: “Many universities have cut budgets because of the reduction of the number of international students, due to the spread of the epidemic.”
Visa denied: US says Chinese students threaten national securityIt said the number of Chinese students in the US had risen consistently over the decades, from over 60,000 in 2004 to more than 350,000 last year.
But last year’s growth of just 0.8 per cent was dramatically slower than, for example, the 29.9 per cent reported for the school year of 2009-2010 school year.“This is directly related to the Trump administration’s restrictions targeting international students studying in the US,” according to the report.In May, then US secretary of state Mike Pompeo took aim at Chinese students and academics allegedly involved in espionage in the United States, revoking the visas of Chinese students and researchers with direct links to Chinese universities affiliated to the country’s military.
(...)The report also cited figures from the Open Doors Report 2020, published by the Institute of International Education, pointing to a broader decline.The institute said about 1.1 million international students were studying in the US in 2019-2020, a 1.8 per cent drop year on year.
It was the first decline registered since the 2008 financial crisis. A similar trend has been observed in Britain, with European Union students reconsidering their options in the wake of Brexit, according to the Beijing think tank.As of the academic year 2018-2019, the top three destinations for studying abroad were the US, Britain and China, the report said.
The report also said more Chinese students were returning to China after completing their studies overseas. In 2019, 580,003 of those graduates returned to China, an increase of 11.73 per cent from 2018.It said the international education sector as a whole would continue to suffer a severe blow as the pandemic put the brakes on international travel.

#Covid-19#migrant#migration#etatsunis#chine#sante#education#etudiant#politiquemigratoire#pandemie#economie#frontiere#circulation

Fled civil war in Myanmar, lost job to coronavirus and died in Malaysia: young mother’s suicide highlights refugees’ plight | South China Morning Post
▻https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3122990/fled-civil-war-myanmar-lost-job-coronavirus-and-died-malaysia

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A day before Malaysia deported more than 1,000 people to Myanmar
in defiance of a court order and protests from human rights groups, a young mother worried about her illegal status killed herself by jumping from the first floor of her apartment building in Kuala Lumpur. The woman, who was not one of those targeted for Tuesday’s mass deportation, had fled civil war in Myanmar’s Kachin state. She is thought to have become depressed after both she and her husband lost their jobs to the coronavirus pandemic.Her death on Monday was the latest in a string of suicides by refugees and migrant workers from Myanmar to have occurred in Malaysia since the pandemic began.“The couple were facing money problems, had debts and she worried over her undocumented status,” said Nang Moon, who works with refugee groups and belongs to the Malaysia branch of the Myanmar political party National League for Democracy.“She is also believed to have been suffering from postpartum depression.”She estimated this was the 24th such suicide since the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic last year, though added, “We don’t know the exact figure.”La Seng, head of the Kachin Refugee Organisation in Malaysia, said the woman had been in Malaysia since 2014, was 28 years old and left behind a 3-month-old daughter. “Her husband is very depressed,” said La Seng.

#Covid-19#migrant#migration#malaisie#myanmar#sante#santementale#suicide#refugie#pandemie#emploi#vulnerabilite

Covid-19 adds to woes of Hong Kong’s ethnic minority residents facing discrimination, language barrier, difficulty finding jobs | South China Morning Post
▻https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/society/article/3122439/covid-19-adds-woes-hong-kongs-ethnic-minority-residents

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Covid-19 adds to woes of Hong Kong’s ethnic minority residents facing discrimination, language barrier, difficulty finding jobs

#Covid-19#migrant#migration#hongkong#minorite#discrimination#inegalite#sante#economie#emploi

Israel’s ‘green passports’ plan could lead way in reviving world tourism after Covid-19 vaccination programme is complete | South China Morning Post
▻https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3121046/israels-green-passports-plan-could-lead-way-reviving-world

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Israel is hoping that its world-leading vaccination programme will allow it to resume tourism later this year and is talking to Greece and Cyprus about reopening their borders.The country, which has vaccinated a higher proportion of its citizens than any other, started to issue “green passport” certificates last week that show holders have been given two full doses of the vaccine, one of its diplomats in China said. It is now trying to negotiate reciprocal arrangements with other countries to permit entry to those carrying the certificates.Israel’s experience is likely to be closely watched around the world as it could become the first country to inoculate enough people to reach the ultimate goal of achieving herd immunity.“What we are planning to do is to open a programme of green passports, which means everybody that’s been vaccinated could travel to other countries without the need for being tested before, during the visit or being quarantined after visiting the country,” said Yuval Waks, deputy chief of the Israeli mission in Beijing.He said Greece could be the first country to sign such an agreement with Israel, followed by Cyprus because “it’s also good for their economy” and “tourists from Israel are eager to go”.Waks continued that talks with China were at an early stage and media reports have suggested that countries in Europe such as Serbia and Romania may also take part in the scheme.

#Covid-19#migrant#migration#israel#sante#tourisme#passeportvaccinal#chypre#grece#frontiere#circulation#economie#serbie#roumanie

Rescue boat with 422 migrants, some testing positive for Covid-19, heads to Sicily | South China Morning Post
▻https://www.scmp.com/news/world/article/3120920/rescue-boat-422-migrants-some-testing-positive-covid-19-heads-sicily

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A rescue ship with 422 migrants aboard, a small number of whom tested positive for Covid-19, was headed to a port in Sicily on Sunday.SOS Mediterranee, the humanitarian group which operates the rescue ship Ocean Viking, said Italy had granted the vessel permission to enter the port of Augusta, where it was expected to arrive on Sunday evening, just as rain and strong winds were forecast.The migrants were rescued in separate operations in the central Mediterranean Sea on Thursday and Friday, including 121 who were crowded into a rubber dinghy. Some of the passengers fell into the sea during that rescue operation but were brought to safety, SOS Mediterranee said in a statement by Luisa Albera, search and rescue coordinator aboard the Ocean Viking.
In all, four distinct rescue operations were carried out over two days. Many of those rescued are women and children.Originally, a total of 424 were rescued, but a pregnant woman and her companion were evacuated urgently by helicopter to Malta on Saturday, the statement said.
Eight of the rescued migrants have Covid-19, according to tests administered by the crew, and were being isolated on board despite the difficulties of crowded conditions on deck.“But although strict Covid-19 mitigation protocols apply on board the Ocean Viking, this is a vessel of 69 metres (228 feet) in length,” Albera said. “This situation is a further reason for the remaining 422 survivors, who are in confined space on the aft deck, to be promptly disembarked in a place of safety,” she said. Among the passengers are other pregnant women, babies and unaccompanied minors among the children.

#Covid-19#migrant#migration#malte#italie#ue#libye#ong#sante#parcoursmigratoire#routemigratoire#vulnerabilite#test#isolement

Coronavirus: Malaysia to move migrant workers to hotels; Japanese doctors warn of long-lasting aftereffects | South China Morning Post
▻https://www.scmp.com/coronavirus/asia/article/3120908/coronavirus-malaysia-move-migrant-workers-hotels-japanese-doctors

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Workers wearing personal protective equipment leave after burying a victim of the coronavirus disease at a Muslim cemetery in Gombak, on the outskirts of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Photo: AP Workers wearing personal protective equipment leave after burying a victim of the coronavirus disease at a Muslim cemetery in Gombak, on the outskirts of Kuala Lumpur,
Malaysia’sgovernment has kicked off a plan to temporarily house migrant workers in near-empty hotels across the nation to tackle the worsening spread of Covid-19 cases due to workplace clusters.
Malaysia’s Tourism, Arts and Culture Ministry said in a statement that the programme will help curb the virus outbreak and indirectly assist hotel operators hurt by the pandemic.“The initiative is the best alternative at the moment,” the ministry said. The plan is a collaboration between the ministry and the Department of Manpower of the Ministry of Human Resources, it said.Overcrowded conditions in employee dormitories have been a key source of infections, spurring record cases and pressuring Malaysia’s health system. The nation has more than 1.5 million documented migrant workers, 91 per cent of whom live in accommodation that does not meet minimum housing standards, according to the Ministry of Human Resources.The government’s plan also provides a lifeline for the tourism industry. More than 100 hotels have closed since the outbreak began almost a year ago, according to a statement by the Malaysian Association of Hotels.

#Covid-19#migrant#migration#malaisie#sante#travailleurmigrant#dortoir#hotel#contamination#infection#pandemie

Coronavirus: Hongkongers stranded overseas fear travellers from Britain who returned via Dubai and tested positive for Covid-19 could make getting home harder | South China Morning Post
▻https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/3118744/coronavirus-hongkongers-stranded-overseas-fear

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Hundreds of Hongkongers stranded overseas by a ban on travel from Britain fear they may face further difficulties returning home after three of their number, who flew to Hong Kong via Dubai and Singapore, tested positive for Covid-19.Many had already travelled to Dubai weeks ago, after the government said the only way they would be able to return was by spending three weeks in a destination outside Britain.The United Arab Emirates is one of the few places still allowing arrivals from there that also offers transit routes to Hong Kong, and had been considered the best available option, at least before Thursday’s news raised the spectre of further disruptions and uncertainty.One female Hong Kong resident, who flew to Dubai with her family 10 days ago said there was “a high level of anxiety for everyone right now”.

#Covid-19#migrant#migration#hongkong#sante#retour#test#dubai#singapour#grandebretagne#anxiete#peur

Coronavirus: Hong Kong set to hit aircrew on long-haul flights with strictest quarantine measures from next week in bid to contain surge of infections | South China Morning Post
▻https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/3118657/hong-kong-fourth-wave-airline-sector-braces

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Hong Kong is set to announce the strictest quarantine measures for aircrew on long-haul flights from next week as it seeks to contain a surge of Covid-19infections, which could plunge the struggling aviation industry into a fresh crisis. Sources said pilots and cabin crew from Hong Kong, after a layover in any country, would be required to undergo quarantine in a hotel for 14 days upon returning to the city. The impact would hit flagship carrier Cathay Pacific Airways the hardest as the biggest operator of such flights in the city.“The quarantine plan will affect local aircrew who operate a flight with an overseas layover – and it doesn’t matter if it’s a passenger or cargo flight – and it means those flights which do long-haul or air cargo will be affected,” a source familiar with the plan said. Health authorities confirmed 70 new infections on Thursday, with much of the focus still on an expanding outbreak in the densely populated Yau Tsim Mong district, where the government has ramped up mandatory testing for residents

#Covid-19#migrant#migration#hongkongsante#quarantaine#frontiere#circulation

Net worth comparison of the top 10 richest person in the world in March 2020 and January 2021

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Teachers, principal stranded in Britain by Covid-19 travel ban as Hong Kong international schools reopen | South China Morning Post
▻https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/education/article/3118017/teachers-principal-stranded-britain-covid-19-travel-ban

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Online classes resumed in Hong Kong schools this month, but a number of teachers remain stranded in Britain because of the Covid-19 travel ban, the Post has learned.Nearly one in 10 teachers from Harrow International School, including its head, Ann Haydon, are still stuck in Britain. Belinda Greer, CEO of the city’s biggest international school group, English Schools Foundation (ESF), is also unable to return.They are among hundreds of city residents left stranded after the Hong Kong government banned flights from Britain since December 22 to prevent the import of a more transmissible strain of the coronavirus.

#Covid-19#migrant#migration#hongkong#grandebretagne#frontiere#restrictionsanitaire#retour#sante#education

Coronavirus: Chinese student found to have new variant on return from Britain | South China Morning Post
▻https://www.scmp.com/coronavirus/greater-china/article/3116238/coronavirus-chinese-student-found-have-new-variant-return

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A Chinese student was identified as having contracted the new strain of the coronavirus after returning home from Britain. Photo: Xinhua A Chinese student was identified as having contracted the new strain of the coronavirus after returning home from Britain.The 18-year-old male, who returned home to Guangzhou, the capital of south China’s Guangdong province, on December 4, is the second Chinese to contract the B.1.1.7 variant after studying in Britain, Guangzhou Daily reported on Sunday.
The discovery was made after the provincial disease control and prevention centre ran gene-sequencing tests on all throat swab samples it had collected since September, the report said.

#Covid-19#migrant#migration#chine#grandebretagne#sante#virusmutant#etudiant#retour#contamination#test