🌊Inbound Quarantine 3 (+4)

Happy International Cat Day!

Aug 8

Good morning.

Today’s international cat day! Send us your cat pics and I’ll feature them on Tide the rest of the week.

Meanwhile here’s a picture of the village cat that likes to poop outside of front door but will never let me pat him:

In less optimistic international news, Olivia Newton-John has died at age 73 and I will be playing the Xanadu soundtrack all night (I prefer it to Grease, shoot me).

— Cyril

On Today’s Tide

COVID | Inbound Quarantine shortened to 3 +4
Malaria | Malaria on the rise (don’t panic!)
Crime | Marine Police seize 126 smuggled cats and dogs
Events

Behind the paywall:

Politics |
- John Lee statistically better than Carrie Lam
- New head of National Security
Greater China | China announces fresh military drills around Taiwan

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Inbound 3 (+4)

The best news of the month – quarantine for inbound travelers has been reduced to 3 days + 4 days of home quarantine lite (I mean medical observation) from Friday.

Ziqrie ShamsulBahari on Twitter: "@9GAG We will all be sad when Hide the pain Harold pass away one day." / Twitter — Me finally being able to afford quarantine hotels and come home

Utilizing the Mainland’s traffic light style health code, those under medical observation at home will have a yellow health code which bars them from going into high risk places that require LeaveHomeSafe scanning such as bars, restaurants, large events and schools. However, they will still be allowed to go to work and travel using public transport.

Many business groups have already heralded the second coming. The HKGCC said in a Press Release that it “welcomes the decision” to reduce quarantine, but that further reductions need to be done quickly, as “with the economy in
negative growth and the economic outlook remaining bleak, businesses need to be able to freely reconnect with the world”.

Cathay Pacific also welcomed the move but with caveats, saying “We are asking the government to urgently provide a clear roadmap showing the complete removal of all Covid-related restrictions for aircrew and passengers as soon as is feasible to protect Hong Kong’s international aviation hub status”.

Help! I’ve already paid for 7 days of hotels!

Worry not, the government clarified that hotels will automatically refund the extra 4 days of quarantine. At the same time, you will not need to cancel any existing bookings to re-book for 3 days.

Hong Kong SAR Government News @newsgovhk

The Centre for Health Protection says it is looking into 3,807 additional locally acquired #COVID19 cases, while the Hospital Authority calls on parents to watch out for a respiratory illness called #croup among children

news.gov.hk3.8k COVID-19 cases foundThe Centre for Health Protection says it is looking into 3,807 additional locally acquired COVID-19 cases, while the Hospital Authority calls on parents to watch out for a respiratory illness called croup among children.

COVID-19 in Hong Kong: 8 Aug

New cases: 4040
Total cases: 1,389,282
New deaths: 7
Total deaths: 9,547
Compulsory testing locations: 38

Malaria is the new COVID

Numbers continue to rise – 77 cases have been found of the deadly disease. At least one has died with two more currently in a serious condition.

The cases are from over 100 Chinese workers who were based in West Africa and returning home through Hong Kong.

CHP said that Hong Kong has a very low number of Malaria carrying Anopheline mosquitoes. The fight to control their numbers has also been going on for 60 years.

For the record: Malaria is generally only spread through mosquito bites, although it can also be spread through infected blood (for instance in cases of blood transfusions).

Do not panic, it is very difficult to transmit Malaria. The title is a joke: Malaria is not the new COVID!

So, turn off your vampire tendencies till Halloween and you’ll be fine!

Grim Adventures reference? Anybody else? Just me? ok.

Smuggled pets caught by marine police

Not so happy news for International Cat Day. Marine police said yesterday that they caught over 100 pets in an abused stated at Deep Water Bay.

The pets are expected to have been sold in local pet stores. They have now been handed over to the AFCD for veterinary care.

The smuggler had docked his sampan filled with cats and dogs and fled before the cops could catch the reverse cat-burglar. Which I envision looked like this:

Events and deals

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For more local events, check out yesterday’s High Tide.

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