HK scraps mandatory vaccines for foreign domestic workers
Hong Kong yesterday scrapped a plan to make coronavirus vaccines mandatory for foreign domestic workers after the proposal sparked an outcry and a diplomatic tussle.
But authorities ordered all foreign helpers to undergo another round of mandatory testing, triggering renewed criticism from the Philippines. Health officials planned to roll out mandatory inoculations for the 370,000 domestic workers in the city, mostly poorly paid women from the Philippines and Indonesia.
Those wanting to apply for work visas-or renew their current ones-would need to show they had received two doses. But on Tuesday city leader Carrie Lam announced a U-turn.
“The government has decided not to request mandatory vaccination when helpers renew their contracts,” she said, adding the decision had been made after meetings with officials from the Philippines and Indonesia. Philippine foreign affairs secretary Teodoro Locsin had previously said the initial proposal “smacked of discrimination”.
Hong Kong health officials announced the mandatory vaccination plan and the testing of all domestic workers last month after two were found to be infected with one of the more virulent strains of the coronavirus. They said domestic workers were “high risk” because they often work with the elderly and meet in parks on Sundaysusually their one day off a week.
Labour groups representing domestic workers said they felt they were being singled out, noting that the families they worked for-as well as locals working in environments such as care homes-were not required to get vaccinated. They also pointed out that wealthier foreign migrants such as the city’s white-collar financial workers were not forced to get vaccines when outbreaks of the coronavirus were traced to their wellheeled districts.
The last round of compulsory testing saw long queues form at facilities across the city. Three coronavirus cases were uncovered over nine days. Yesterday, Lam said all non-vaccinated helpers would be ordered to undergo a second round of testing by the end of the month.