š Big July Heat
Good morning.
You may be wondering why you didnāt receive High Tide yesterday morning. I fear there may have been a glitch in Charlotteās Matrix, but fear not! Todayās normally paywalled Tide is on the house.
ā Jasmine Lee
On Todayās Tide
Crime | Child abuse foster home scandal continues with sentencing.
Government | 2.5% pay rise for civil servants approved.
COVID-19 | Upping the beds for patients in public hospitals. Meanwhile, Macau discriminates against Filipino population with mandatory testing.
Other | Greater Bay Airlines gets set for take-off.
Appointments | 19 senior official appointments.
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Another arrest in ongoing foster home abuse case
Crime
A former staff member who worked at a foster home at the centre of a facility-wide abuse scandal has been arrested and sentenced for child abuse. The 56-year-old staffer was sentenced to seven months in prison after pleading guilty to the assault of three children at the Childrenās Residential Home, located in Prince Edward.
Other crime stories
Two adults, aged 18 and 19, have been convicted of rioting at a violent 2019 protest where a janitor was severely hurt and later died in the crossfire.
COVID in Hong Kong
Cases in Hong Kong
New cases: 4,270
Local cases: 4,090
Imported cases: 180
Total cases: 1,313,478
New deaths: 6
The patients who died were between the ages of 72 to 99, one of who were unvaccinated.
Total deaths: 9,454
Compulsory testing notices: 64 places
Other COVID stories
A data dashboard at Hong Kongās Queen Elizabeth Hospital has the potential to cut down patient discharge time by one-third.
Beds in public hospitals will be increased to 2,500 (increased from 1,200 beds) for COVID-19 patients.
In a controversial move, Filipinos in Macau have been specifically ordered to take COVID-19 tests for three days in a row (beginning yesterday, 22 July). Quite fairly, a domestic worker's union has called this out as being āracist and unfairā.
Starting on Monday, medical teams will be assisting with COVID-19 vaccinations at nursing homes on a weekly basis.
LegCo says yes to giving civil servants a 2.5% pay rise
Government
A proposal to give all civil servants a flat pay rise of 2.5% has been approved by the Legislative Council. They are scheduled to get this salary increase starting next month, to be backdated to 1 April.
Other government-related stories
The government will waive the administrative and inspection fees paid by those who hand national flags off of lampposts to reward shows of patriotism. A group who applied to hang their national flags will get a HK$147,000 refund on these fees.
Jimmy Sham, an LGBTQ+ activist, has filed a legal challenge to fight for the recognition of same-sex couples in Hong Kong.
Homes are selling at a loss and it is still hot
Other
Greater Bay Airlines, a new startup, will be taking off on its first flight today to Bangkok.
Fridayās temperature of 35.6 degrees was the second hottest day in July on record.
Owners of Hong Kong homes are selling at a loss in a period of significant emigration from the city, higher interest rates, and the stock market not having a great time.
Deputy bureau chiefs among 19 senior officials appointed
Appointments
The government has announced the appointment of 19 senior officials, eight of which are for deputy bureau chief positions.
See the full list of appointed under secretaries and political assistants here.
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