Coronavirus Hong Kong: welfare chief says ‘hiccups’ inevitable when quarantine facility opens to domestic helpers; city confirms 5 new cases

Law Chi-kwong cites the government’s lack of experience in running any kind of hotel, let alone one it had only a month to prepare

The arrangements for quarantining incoming helpers at Penny’s Bay have already drawn complaints from employers and recruitment agencies

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The quarantine facility at Penny's Bay will open its doors to arriving domestic helpers on Monday. Photo: Dickson Lee

Published: 1:30pm, 18 Sep 2021Updated: 10:21pm, 18 Sep 2021

Hong Kong’s welfare chief has admitted that there will inevitably be some “hiccups” when what is effectively an 800-room hotel at a government-run quarantine centre opens its doors next week to foreign domestic helpers arriving in the city.

Citing the government’s lack of experience in running any kind of hotel, especially with only a month’s preparation, Secretary for Labour and Welfare Law Chi-kwong said on Saturday some setbacks were unavoidable.

Hong Kong confirmed five new Covid-19 infections on Saturday involving one arrival each from the United States, the Philippines and India, as well as two from Qatar. Two of the infections were detected upon arrival, while the other three were picked up during hotel quarantine.

The new cases took the city’s overall tally to 12,157, with 213 related deaths.

Secretary for Labour and Welfare Law Chi-kwong. Photo: Jonathan Wong

Law on Saturday noted that it had been a challenge to strike a balance between limiting imported infections and opening the city up to domestic workers flying in from the Philippines and Indonesia, where the coronavirus was still on the rise.