DDHK.ORG - Minister of Labor and Welfare Law Chi-kwong said the government may provide more quarantine facilities for foreign domestic workers (PRT) newly arrived in Hong Kong. This was conveyed by the minister, responding to complaints from employers and agents who claimed that they had to try too hard to get a 21-day quarantine room for their domestic workers.
Speaking at a roundtable discussion on Friday (15/10/2021), the head of the labor department said, on average 45 foreign domestic workers arrived in Hong Kong every day this month. Meanwhile, the daily quota at the Penny's Bay Quarantine Center on Lantau Island reaches 50. Starting next Friday, the total number of units there will be increased from 800 to 1.000.
Law conveyed the good news, that the risk of foreign domestic workers coming with Covid-19 had decreased. That way, paving the way for more foreign domestic workers to come to Hong Kong.
But he rejected the idea of linking quarantine sites to visa checks for foreign domestic workers. “We have thought about these measures, but they might cause more delays and result in fewer domestic workers arriving. This procedure is very complicated. Some people may wait for a visa for a month or two, but others may wait as long as nine months. And using this method can lead to more complaints,” said Law, as reported by RTHK.
It said the government should be careful with its policies, especially after two domestic workers from Indonesia tested positive for the virus this week after completing quarantine. In fact, they have received the full dose of the vaccine in Indonesia.
On that occasion, representatives of employers and labor agencies welcomed the idea of adding a quarantine unit. They also urged the government to improve its ordering system.
Teresa Liu, from the Hong Kong Employment Agencies Association, said the allocation of quarantine sites and workers' visa checks should be considered together. "Let foreign domestic workers come according to the issuance date of their visas, because some of their visas were issued earlier this year," he said. [DDHKNews]
