appConfigEntityId

bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

isVideo

articlePageQuery

article

articleSchemaContent

content

hooksArticlePageAdvertisementConfigArticle

appConfig

filter

json

liveArticle

Phila Siu

Aprilyn Racca’s world was turned upside down after a news alert popped up on her phone during the eight-hour bus ride to Manila from her hometown in Illocos Sur, in the northern Philippines.
The 34-year-old Filipino boarded the bus at 10.30pm on April 18 and was due to get her final medical tests done before flying to Hong Kong to start work as a domestic worker.
Her excitement turned into desperation when she read the breaking news that Hong Kong had slapped a 14-day ban on flights from the Philippines, India and Pakistan from April 20, amid worsening Covid-19 outbreaks in those countries. 
Hong Kong on Saturday confirmed three new coronavirus infections, taking the city’s official tally to 11,730, with 209 related deaths.
Hong Kong-Singapore travel bubble ‘won’t burst’ despite mutated strain
“I felt very helpless,” said Racca, who would have travelled abroad for the first time in her life. “I was just one step from going to Hong Kong.”
After her bus arrived in Manila, she went to a church to pray, overwhelmed and shaking with hopelessness.
She is among an estimated 1,000 Filipino migrant workers unable to travel to Hong Kong because of the flight ban. It is meant to last two weeks, but medical experts have suggested extending it if the outbreaks in the three countries show no signs of easing.
Over the past two weeks, the Philippines has been recording about 10,000 new Covid-19 infections each day. Its vaccination programme began in March but so far, only about 1.3 per cent of the population of 108 million have had their jabs.

The country’s top diplomat in Hong Kong, Consul General Raly Tejada, told the Post the ban affected both Hong Kong and the Philippines.
“As the largest labour-supplying country to Hong Kong, the situation creates a negative impact on both sides. It is our hope that the ban will be lifted earlier or as soon as the 14-day period expires,” he said.
Extending the ban would create unnecessary problems, he said, adding that Hong Kong’s measures to screen travellers upon arrival and intercept those infected with Covid-19 were “sufficient and reliable”.
Employment agencies have suggested that Filipinos who have been vaccinated should be allowed to enter Hong Kong, but Tejada said vaccination should not be made a condition for entry.
Hong Kong domestic helpers’ pay ‘could soar’ amid flight ban
Racca, who left her farmer husband and eight-year-old son at home to work in Hong Kong, said this was the only way to make enough money for the family to live a more comfortable life.
She used to earn 13,000 pesos (HK$2,000) a month working in a shop selling electronic appliances and managing about 20 workers. 
“My salary was not enough because my child is getting bigger. I needed to find another job,” she said.
In Hong Kong, the monthly minimum wage for domestic workers is HK$4,630 (US$597), with some employers willing to pay more because of the current shortage of helpers.

With the flight ban in place, Racca decided to stay in Manila with a relative instead of heading home to face a 14-day quarantine because of local restrictions. 
“I am not a human being if I tell you I am not worried. I am really hoping the ban will not be extended,” she said.
Weighing heavily on her mind is the debt of 60,000 pesos she borrowed from relatives and lending companies to pay for the training and other fees before leaving for Hong Kong. Delaying the trip will mean holding up repaying the money.
“I feel disappointed and unlucky,” she said.
Additional reporting by Kathleen Magramo



Hong Kong’s Peninsula Hotels sees ‘bleisure’ boom after pandemic curbs, CEO says

US could require US$15,000 bonds for some tourist, business visas

China’s Shenzhen, Guangzhou airports hit record highs, surpass pre-Covid passenger levels

Landmark US Chinatown survived Covid, anti-Asian violence – but tariffs pose new threat

Coronavirus pandemic

Coronavirus: 14-day travel ban to Hong Kong leaves Filipino domestic worker stranded, feeling ‘helpless’

Aprilyn Racca, a 34-year-old Filipino, has been looking forward to coming to Hong Kong for work, but her plans have been derailed by a 14-day flight ban. Photo: Handout

The training centre that Aprilyn Racca attended in the Philippines. She had borrowed heavily to pay for training and other fees. Photo: Handout

Racca is hoping for a better life for her family with the increased wages she expects to earn in Hong Kong. Photo: Handout

Hong Kong’s shortage of births goes from bad to worse as Covid-19 health risks deter women from having babies

An official report on Hong Kong’s fertility rates released last December showed a declining trend over the past nearly four decades. Photo: Edmond So

The number of births fell 18.5 per cent to 43,100 last year from the year before, according to official statistics. Photo: Shutterstock

Women are tormented trying to decide whether to conceive, while unsure about Covid-19’s impact on pregnancy, clinical psychologist Dr Quratulain Zaidi says. Photo: Shutterstock

A woman walks past a poster near Hong Kong Central Library in Causeway Bay appealing to citizens to take vaccine shots. Photo: Xiaomei Chen

The Hong Kong restaurant where you can pay in bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies

Owner of Okra Max Levy at his restaurant in Sai Ying Pun, Hong Kong. Photo: Xiaomei Chen

Levy believes his customers will get into cryptocurrencies, too. Photo: Xiaomei Chen

Okra Hong Kong was limited to serving 14 diners during last year’s coronavirus restrictions. Photo: Xiaomei Chen

Cryptocurrencies are volatile and prices can dramatically change hourly. Photo: Getty Images

Carabinero prawn with steamed egg custard at Okra Hong Kong. Photo: courtesy Okra Hong Kong

Coronavirus: Hong Kong jobless rate drops to 6.8 per cent but still hovering near 17-year high

Workers cross the street in Central. Photo: Nora Tam

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

Cathay Pacific Airways prepares pilot base closures, leaving hundreds of jobs at risk

Cathay’s plan for pilot base closures is believed to threaten hundreds of jobs. Photo: Winson Wong

Cathay will begin voluntarily transferring pilots from shuttered overseas bases to Hong Kong. Photo: K. Y. Cheng

Coronavirus: Hong Kong lawmakers renew calls for unemployment scheme to help low-income groups survive economic fallout of pandemic

Hongkongers will get HK$5,000 in e-vouchers to help boost consumer spending. Photo: Xiaomei Chen

Starry Lee of the DAB. Photo: Edmond So

Lawmaker Lo Wai-kwok. Photo: Dickson Lee

News

Hong Kong

Society

Coronavirus

Economic Impact

Asia


About 1,000 workers are stuck after city imposes flight ban amid surge in Philippine Covid-19 cases
 Manila diplomat hopes ban will not be extended, says screening arrivals in Hong Kong is enough 



About 1,000 workers are stuck after city imposes flight ban amid surge in Philippine Covid-19 cases.


Foreign domestic workers in Hong Kong

Coronavirus Hong Kong

Coronavirus pandemic: All stories

5050