A few days ago, I wrote about how a group of employees were put into a 21-day quark after three pilots tested positive for coronaviruses at the same hotel in Germany. There is an update on that story.
Three cargo pilots from Cathay Pacific tested positive for coronaviruses after staying at the Hyatt Regency Mainz during a layover. The two crews never interacted after the three pilots tested positive on two separate trips.
Two pilots arriving in Frankfurt on November 1 tested positive for coronaviruses.
A pilot arriving in Frankfurt on November 3 tested positive for coronaviruses.
Hong Kong has a zero tolerance approach towards coronaviruses and has strict entry requirements, including a 21-day quark. The crews are exempt from this, but they have to constantly be tested and can't leave their hotel rooms during layovers.
Danny Lee from the South China Morning Post has an update on this story, which states that three pilots have been fired by Cathay Pacific after they tested positive for coronaviruses. It is believed that the pilots left their hotel rooms during their layovers. The statement was released by the airline.
The findings indicate a serious violation of requirements during crew overseas layovers. The individuals are no longer employed by the company. The impact these incidents have had on our people, their families and the community is something we acknowledge.
The company's policy on not leaving rooms during layovers is crystal clear, and the findings of the investigation seem to indicate that this seems fair. I think Hong Kong's approach to coronaviruses is over the top at this point, but if you are working for the airline, you have to deal with this. I can't imagine not being able to leave a layover hotel for 20 months.
The pilots involved in the first layover were older than the other pilots and claimed to have not left their hotel rooms or participated in any gatherings.
I wonder what happened here.
It was possible that all three pilots tested positive for coronaviruses without leaving their hotel rooms, but it was not likely given that they all had the same shuttle bus driver.
The crews never crossed paths.
All hotel employees are supposed to wear masks.
The risk of infection is not eliminated by the vaccine, but it does lower it.
It seems like they left their rooms during the layover. It's not likely that this was a full-on coincidence. I can't help but wonder if there's more to this after they casually interacted with someone.
Did one of the pilots recommend an activity or service that involved close contact with one specific person to the pilot on the second layover? Something along those lines seems to be the most likely explanation to me. We will probably never know the results of the investigation.
It's interesting that all three pilots were fired. It was likely that one pilot was acting alone in leaving the hotel room, and that the other pilot on the flight deck was exposed to the coronaviruses.
The bottom line.
The three pilots were fired by Cathay Pacific after they tested positive for coronaviruses. Hundreds of Cathay Pacific employees and close contacts were put in a 21-day quark because of this. The pilots left their hotel rooms during the layover, according to an investigation.
At least we know they didn't get coronaviruses by following the rules.
What do you think about the update to this story?
