Coronavirus: death of Filipino domestic helper in Hong Kong underlines stark health care gap amid pandemic

The woman, who recently died of ovarian cancer, had claimed that her employer did not provide her with sufficient support

Advocates say the case highlights the plight of migrant workers who often face pressure from their employers to not seek medical help over fears about Covid-19

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Overseas domestic workers at an employment agency in central Hong Kong. Domestic workers have reported increased workloads, stress levels and isolation since the beginning of the pandemic. Photo: SCMP

Published: 9:00am, 11 Oct 2020Updated: 1:11pm, 12 Oct 2020

The death of Merle Bonagua, a domestic worker from the Philippines who had worked for 18 years in Hong Kong, has highlighted the often daunting hurdles migrant workers face in getting health care in the city since the beginning of the coronavirus crisis, advocates and other domestic workers say.

Bonagua, 52, died of ovarian cancer on September 20 at Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Yau Ma Tei. She was laid to rest this past week in her home country.

Paul Saret, the head of the Philippine consulate’s assistance to nationals section in Hong Kong, said the consulate only came to know about Bonagua’s case in late August through Pieter Nootenboom, founder of the migrant online group Hong Kong Overseas Foreign Workers, or HKOFW, who had helped take her to hospital.

Saret said that before her death, Bonagua had drafted a document stating that her employer – an unnamed family – had not provided her with sufficient support. “She left an affidavit saying the employer did not tend to her needs, meaning that she requested to go to the hospital, but they failed to do so,” Saret told This Week in Asia.

He said the Philippine consulate had blacklisted the employer, meaning they will no longer be able to hire another Filipino domestic worker, although they would be free to hire a domestic helper from another country.