By Daisy CL Mandap
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| Chan confirms stranded FDHs may start coming in by next week |
Hong Kong government officials have confirmed that thousands
of stranded foreign domestic helpers from the Philippines and Indonesia may be
allowed to come in as early as next week.
Unnamed labour department officials were quoted in
several news reports as saying they were nearing agreement on verifying
vaccination certificates issued by the two countries, both designated by Hong
Kong as high-risk places for Covid.
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The same information was given to The SUN by Consul
General Raly Tejada last week, who said Hong Kong was very close to giving
recognition to vaccination records issued by Philippine authorities.
Later on Saturday, Health Secretary Sophia Chan also told
reporters discussions between the governments have been going well, and details
will be announced as soon as possible.
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Chan reminded the public that since the Philippine and
Indonesia are both high-risk places, everyone who will be coming in from these
countries will have to be fully vaccinated, and quarantine for 21 days in designated
hotels.
She also said the Labour Department is in the process
of designating the two quarantine hotels which will be used exclusively for
incoming FDHs.
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Employment agencies say up to 7,000 FDHs have been
unable to enter Hong Kong since a flight ban was enforced on arrivals from the
Philippines on Apr 20, and from Indonesia on Jun 25.
However, this could not be independently confirmed,
and Immigration figures show a much higher figure for FDH job losses of no less
than 10,000 since the pandemic hit Hong Kong early last year.
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Hong Kong has previously announced that vaccinated
residents from the high risk or category A countries could start coming in by
Aug 9, but with the additional requirement that they should hold recognized
vaccination records.
By this, the government said their vaccination records
should have been issued only in Hong Kong, China, Macau, and all countries with
a stringent regulatory authority as designated by the World Health
Organization.
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| HK is expected to accept the Philippines' yellow vaccination cards |
Recently, the list was expanded to include countries
with bilateral agreements with Hong Kong on a mutual recognition of vaccination
records, apparently to pave the way for all other residents and FDHs stuck in the
Philippines, Indonesia, India, and most of the 24 countries in the high-risk
group to come in.
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The selective lifting of the travel ban on the most
restricted countries on Hong Kong’s list, plus the designation of quarantine
hotels exclusively for FDHs, has sparked accusation of discrimination from
migrant organizations.
Indonesian helper Eni Lestari, who chairs
International Migrants Alliance, questioned the move to herd FDHs into just two
quarantine hotels.
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“Why should they create designated hotels for domestic
workers when it is not even free?,” Lestari asked. “It will (just) create
another form of discrimination.”
Dolores Balladares, chair of United Filipinos in Hong Kong, echoed the sentiment. She said it did not make sense to segregate FDHs when they will be coming from the same high-risk places as the other travelers.
Employment agency operators, on the other hand, are
concerned about cramming FDHs in just one or two hotels where they should
quarantine for 21 days, saying this could mean another long wait for most of
them.
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