The SUN HK : FDHs get more hotel rooms for quarantine, flight suspension rules eased

By Daisy CL Mandap

Courtyard by Marriott is once again designated as quarantine hotel for FDHs

All foreign domestic helpers who will arrive in Hong Kong from overseas starting on Apr 1 will have a wider choice of quarantine hotels, in a move seen to speed up the entry of thousands of migrant workers who were stranded by flight bans and other restrictions.

Apart from the designated quarantine hotels that all new arrivals in the city can book, the helpers will also be able to secure rooms at four hotels reserved exclusively for their use.

These are Rambler Garden Hotel in Tsing Yi, Courtyard by Marriott in Shatin and iclub Ma Tau Wai Hotel which had been converted into isolation facilities recently, and O’Hotel which remains as a designated quarantine hotel for FDHs.

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A surge in arrivals is expected from next month, after Hong Kong lifted a three-month travel bank on nine countries including the Philippines, where thousands of migrant workers with employment visas have been waiting to fly in.

In a separate move Chief Executive Carrie Lam announced a relaxation of the flight suspension mechanism which airlines say is what is preventing them from opening up more routes to Hong Kong.

From Friday, flights which carry Covid-positive passengers will be banned for one week instead of the previous 14 days.

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But as before, the ban takes effect if three or more passengers on the same flight test positive on arrival or if there is at least one positive case and another of failure to comply with pre-boarding requirements.

CE Lam ruled out any more concessions, including easing the rules for imposing flight suspensions, saying the aviation industry like any other businesses, should make adjustments and comply with certain rules.

"So since we have this expectation in requirement of the airlines, we need to put in some penalty. If they fail to fulfill these requirements and bring a certain number of infected passengers into Hong Kong, then we have to take some punitive action so that they would do better,” she said.

Flights that carry 3 Covid positive patients to HK will be suspended for a week, instead of two

Earlier, officials said that apart from the four designated quarantine hotels for FDHs, 13 other hotels currently being used as isolation facilities will be used for quarantine again.

In total, there will be 4,400 extra rooms for everyone returning from overseas and 1,600 more that are reserved for helpers.

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Officials say they've also asked existing quarantine hotels to open up 500 more rooms for bookings, taking the total number available for quarantine to more than 10,000.

Meanwhile, a statement posted on the Labour Department’s website said employers and employment agencies may reserve a room for FDHs for a minimum of seven days directly with the hotels’ online booking systems. For any other information on the DQHs they can go to https://www.coronavirus.gov.hk/eng/designated-hotel.html.

All FDHs who arrive starting on Apr 1 will be issued a 14-day compulsory quarantine order similar to what is issued to all inbound travelers. However their hotel booking can only be up to seven days.

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If they test negative on a PCR test on arrival they will be allowed to proceed to their quarantine hotel or facility. On the fifth, sixth and seventh day after arriving in Hong Kong they will need to undergo further tests and if the result is negative, they will be considered as having completed their compulsory quarantine.

FDHs will then be allowed to start working at their employers’ residence on the eighth day of their arrival in Hong Kong at the earliest, while continuing to undergo self-monitoring for the next seven days. But on the 12^th day they should undergo another PCR test.

As with all inbound travelers, FDHs can be booked for a 14-day quarantine at any of the designated hotels by their employers. FDHs covered by this arrangement are required to stay in their quarantine rooms for the entire 14 days and may leave only after they test negative on their 12^th and 14^th day.

BAN ON FLIGHTS FROM THE PHILIPPINES LIFTED ON APRIL 1. BOOK YOUR FLIGHTS NOW! PRESS FOR DETAILS

Alternatively, their employers can move them to any licensed hotel or guesthouse for the subsequent seven-day self monitoring without getting prior permission from the Labour Department.

However, if the FDH tests positive at any stage between their arrival and the end of the 14-day period covered by the quarantine order they will be sent to a community isolation facility if they are asymptomatic and do not require medical care.

Those with symptoms will be moved to a hospital or a treatment centre.

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As before, all arriving travelers from abroad will have to be fully vaccinated and should present a negative result for a nucleic acid (PCR test done within 48 hours of boarding as certified by a recognized institution and a booking for at least seven days in a designated quarantine hotel.

Those who had their two doses of a Covid vaccine in the Philippines must present either a Yellow Card or a VaxCertPh showing their vaccination record.