Coronavirus: Hong Kong’s domestic helpers getting used to new normal as social distancing keeps them apart on only day off
- Workers gather in public parks and run errands as before but in smaller numbers
- Some say employers encouraged them to stay inside and even offered an extra day’s paid work if they did
Domestic helpers in Hong Kong made do with limited freedom during their precious weekly day off on Sunday, after the government banned gatherings of more than four people to curb the coronavirus epidemic.
More than a dozen domestic helpers in the city told the Post that they preferred to enjoy their time off outdoors with social distancing, despite concerns they get infected and offers from their employers for them to stay at home or work for extra pay.
On Sunday, more than 100 domestic helpers gathered at Victoria Park in Causeway Bay mingling in groups of between two and four people, most wearing masks. In Central, dozens of domestic helpers ran errands at a shopping centre.
Hong Kong recorded 59 new cases of coronavirus infection on Sunday, bringing the total number in the city to 641.
The Labour Department earlier advised the city’s some 400,000 domestic helpers, who mostly come from the Philippines and Indonesia, to refrain from gathering in public places and to stay at home on rest days, while also maintaining social distancing where possible.
