Coronavirus: ban on flights from Philippines and Indonesia hits supply of domestic helpers in Hong Kong
- Families who have hired workers from the two nations have no idea when they will be allowed to enter the city
- Employment agencies are calling on government to allow flights for domestic workers who are fully vaccinated
Faced with difficulties in finding workers, some residents are turning to local cleaners, with one company providing the service reporting an increase in inquiries by as much as 20 per cent.
Hong Kong will no longer allow flights arriving from Indonesia from Friday after the country was added to the list of places deemed “extremely high risk” of coronavirus due to the rise of imported infections from the country. Flights from the Philippines have been banned since April.
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According to Thomas Chan, chairman of the Hong Kong Union of Employment Agencies, the arrival of between 800 and 1,000 domestic helpers from the two countries may be delayed every week, while up to 300 may have their contracts terminated.
“The impact is really serious this time,” he said. “This is the second impact on the Hong Kong employment industry, first from the Philippines … and now from the Indonesian market.”
One woman Chan knew had specially hired an Indonesian to care for her father after he suffered a stroke. The worker was supposed to arrive next month but following the flight ban the woman was considering sending her father to a home for the elderly or hiring a carer locally instead, two options that would be more expensive, Chan said.
Mike Cheung, president of the Overseas Employment Centre, estimated about 300 domestic helpers registered with his company had been forced to delay their arrival.