Coronavirus: Indonesia eyes next week for helpers to start returning to Hong Kong; expert says Covid-19 risks associated with new policy are minimal

The countries supplying most of Hong Kong’s 370,000-strong domestic helper workforce expect that effective entry bans for much of their populations will end on August 30

Monday’s five new imported cases include domestic helper from Indonesia, plus arrivals from Nigeria, Pakistan, Turkey, and the US

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Passengers from the Philippines arrive at Hong Kong International Airport in April. Photo: Winson Wong

Published: 3:05pm, 23 Aug 2021Updated: 11:38pm, 23 Aug 2021

Indonesia has joined the Philippines in declaring August 30 as the expected date from when its domestic helper workforce will be allowed into Hong Kong, saying on Monday that negotiations over the recognition of Covid-19 vaccination records were progressing well.

Philippine Consul General Raly Tejada said a day earlier that his country was hopeful of using an internationally approved “yellow card” system of inoculation verification to enable its locally vaccinated residents to travel to Hong Kong as early as next week.

With optimism growing for an imminent breakthrough in the saga, the Indonesian Consulate said talks with Hong Kong officials on accepting its vaccination certificates had “progressed positively”.

“We expect that foreign domestic helpers from Indonesia alongside those from the Philippines could be able to enter Hong Kong from August 30, 2021,” the consulate said. “We believe that the progress is for the mutual benefit of both sides.”

Under current rules, people holding Covid-19 vaccination records issued by the two Southeast Asian countries are banned from entering Hong Kong from those destinations because the city does not recognise their documents.

The expected return of stranded helpers came as the city on Monday confirmed five new imported infections, including a domestic worker from Indonesia.

Monday’s other cases involved people coming into the city from Nigeria, Pakistan, Turkey, and the United States. Four of the cases were also found with the L452R mutation, which is linked to several coronavirus variants.