Pregnant Cathay Staff To Stay At Home Over Measles

Cathay Pacific on Sunday said it would allow pregnant staff to stay at home if their blood test results showed they were not immune to measles. This comes after an officer, based at the company's Tung Chung headquarters, tested positive for the disease on Saturday. More than a third of the confirmed cases in the current measles outbreak have involved airport, or airline, staff.

The airline says it has already arranged for pregnant staff to undergo antibody tests, and those taking part can stay at home while waiting for the result. It says those found not to be immune can continue to stay at home. It says the arrangement will not affect their salaries.

On Saturday the Cathay Pacific flight attendants union asked the company to allow pregnant staff to work from home, or go on paid sick leave, after the 26-year-old officer went down with the disease. Some pregnant staff members already planned to call in sick on Monday because of the outbreak.

The plan was backed by a leading microbiologist, Yuen Kwok-yung, who said the mortality rate is higher for pregnant women who are not vaccinated. But he said those who have already had the vaccination should not worry. He said 98 percent of Hong Kong's population has been vaccinated. Speaking at a press conference organised by the government's Centre for Health Protection, he also called on the airport management to increase air circulation there.

At the same press conference it was announced that a 23-year-old man had contracted measles, bringing the total number of cases here to 34. The man works in security at the airport. He had travelled to Shenzhen during the incubation period.

The centre says it will now prioritise its airport vaccination programme for workers who are born in, or after, 1967. It says that's because its blood tests of 100 workers showed those born before that year are immune.

______________________________