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| Marilou waiting for her test results at North Lantau Hospital |
A Filipina who
returned from a shortened vacation to Manila on
Friday has tested negative for Covid-19 today, Mar. 22, at the North Lantau
Hospital
Marilou L., a
single mother of two, said her employers had accused her of lying to airport
staff on arrival because she did not tell them about her sore throat.
But she insists
she developed the sore throat only the night before, when she was already at
her employers’ house in Olympic, West Kowloon .
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She said it must
have been caused by the abrupt change in the weather. It was hot in Manila when she left, and cold in Hong
Kong on her arrival.
Early yesterday, Mar. 21, after spending the night in her employer’s home for the mandatory 14-day self-quarantine, Marilou involuntarily cleared her throat and coughed a little while at work.
Alarmed, her
employer asked her if she was alright, and Marilou admitted to having a sore
throat.
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Marilou said her
employer immediately gave her flu medicine and told her to wear a face mask. But
later , both her employers reportedly told her to leave, despite her being on
mandatory home quarantine.
She immediately
sought help through a private message, and a post in the Facebook page of the
Domestic Workers Corner.
About 15 minutes
later, she said her male employer was taking her to a hospital. But the
Kwong Wah hospital in Yaumatei reportedly turned her away, and the employer left
her outside the building.
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When reached by
phone, Marilou was distraught and asked to be rescued because she said she
could no longer bear the nagging of her furious employers.
The SUN relayed
her appeal to Welfare Officer Virsie Tamayao of the Overseas Workers Welfare
Office, who lost no time contacting Marilou and her employers. The Centre for
Health Protection was then alerted about her case, in line with the protocol for
Covid-19.
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| Tamayao managed to convince the employers to take Marilou back to their home in line with quarantine rules |
Tamayao said she
told Marilou to calm down because she would get proper medical attention in the
hospital. She also counseled the worker about employers’ fears about the
infection risk.
The employers,
on the other hand, were reminded about their responsibility as the helper was
already under quarantine at their home, and it would be against the rules to
move her to another address.
Her tack seemed
to work as the employers calmed down and took Marilou back to Olympic to wait
for the ambulance there. At first, the male employer had thought of taking her
to a hotel, but turned back when the ambulance came.
The ambulance
took Marilou to North
Lantau Hospital
The doctor reportedly said her itchy and sore throat could
be due to allergy because of the shift from hot to cold weather.
Because she was not infected, she will have to continue her
quarantine at the hotel chosen by her employer. Under Labour Department
regulations, the employers will have to pay for her accommodation and food for
the remaining period of the quarantine.
Obviously realizing this, her male employer gave Marilou
$5,000 for her hotel stay and bought cup noodles and other food items for her.
Marilou, whose contract is expiring on May 23, had already agreed to renew with the employers before she was allowed to go on vacation in the
But the recent
lockdown of the entire island of Luzon, along with Metro Manila, made her
decide to cut short her planned one-month vacation to just four days.
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| Marilou arrived with this group on the second day of HK's mandatory quarantine for all arriving passengers |
While waiting
for her test results, Marilou said she received a message from her female employer
telling her she was very upset because she did not tell the airport health
officers about her throat.
The employer
said she did not want the helper to be quarantined at their home because of the
potential risk to her son, who is 4 years old.
When Marilou
asked the female employer if she can continue to work for her if she is found
negative of Covid-19, the employer said: “Even negative this time, that is no
use. Many people only confirm positive after the tests.”
Marilou said she will stay in the hotel until Apr 5 and is
unsure if her employers will take her back into their home.
Meanwhile, Hong Kong has recorded 44 new coronavirus cases, including a 20-month-old baby. The total tally now stands at 317.
Of the new cases, 29 involved travelers arriving from Europe, Canada and the United States. Four were students returning from their studies in Britain.
The spike in cases, the second highest daily tally, came after Chief Executive Carrie Lam look further steps to contain the pandemic, including postponing university entrance exams by a month, and ordering civil servants to resume working from home.
Of the new cases, 29 involved travelers arriving from Europe, Canada and the United States. Four were students returning from their studies in Britain.
The spike in cases, the second highest daily tally, came after Chief Executive Carrie Lam look further steps to contain the pandemic, including postponing university entrance exams by a month, and ordering civil servants to resume working from home.
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