Coronavirus Hong Kong: sacked Cathay workers say reasons to avoid vaccines ignored, experts urge more staff awareness; city confirms 3 new imported cases
- One of the fired workers is a cancer survivor, 52, who says she obtained a doctor’s certificate in July saying she was unsuitable for vaccination
- Airline declines to reveal how many staff it sacked this month for refusing to take the jabs but says none had provided proof of medical exemption
In the ensuing debate on labour rights and health protection during a pandemic, Equal Opportunities Commission chairman Ricky Chu Man-kin cautioned the airline against brushing aside employees’ health-related concerns and potentially breaching the Disability Discrimination Ordinance.
A medical expert told the Post the fallout suggested that Cathay staff needed more information to help them decide whether to be vaccinated.
On Sunday, Hong Kong confirmed three new Covid-19 cases, all imported. The patients had been fully vaccinated and were asymptomatic. They involved a 38-year-old arrival from the Philippines who had received two doses of the BioNTech vaccine. He tested positive for antibodies in July. The remaining two cases were from Qatar.
The Centre for Health Protection issued a compulsory testing notice for Block K of Kornhill in Quarry Bay after a 16-year-old resident flew to Britain and tested positive in the country earlier this month. He had received two doses of the BioNTech vaccine in Hong Kong in July.
Medical experts have said that while vaccines do not offer total protection against infection, they vastly reduce the severity of the illness and likelihood of death.