Advertisement
Coronavirus: Hong Kong families await return of thousands of stranded domestic helpers as the Philippines lifts travel ban
- A 32-year-old becomes first Filipino maid diagnosed with Covid-19 in the city as local total hits 62
- Helpers can head back to Hong Kong but concerns raised over waiver requirement
Reading Time:4 minutes
Why you can trust SCMP
Hong Kong households are waiting for thousands of domestic helpers stranded in the Philippines to return to work after Manila on Tuesday lifted a travel ban prompted by the coronavirus crisis, even as a Filipino maid was confirmed to be infected with Covid-19 in the city for the first time.
There is also confusion over the terms and conditions as well as precautionary arrangements for their return, with workers’ unions objecting to the Filipino government’s requirement that they sign written declarations about coming back to Hong Kong at their own risk.
As the number of confirmed infections in the city rose to 62 on Tuesday, health authorities announced they would expand an ongoing surveillance programme and would hand out take-home testing kits to people turning up at public hospitals and outpatient clinics with minor flu-like symptoms so that cases could be identified earlier.
Advertisement
The 61st confirmed case was a 32-year-old Filipino woman who initially tested negative for Covid-19 but returned a positive result three days later. Her employer, a 67-year-old woman living in Quarry Bay, was confirmed to have the virus on February 13.
Health authorities revealed that the infected helper, now isolated at Pamela Youde Nethersole Eastern Hospital in Chai Wan, had taken part in a gathering with 10 friends outside City Hall in Central on February 9.
Advertisement
Advertisement
Select Voice
Choose your listening speed
Get through articles 2x faster
1.25x
250 WPM
Slow
Average
Fast
1.25x