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| Group hikes such as this are no longer allowed under government restrictions on social distancing |
Leisure activities of Filipino migrants in Hong
Kong on their rest days have been thrown off-track by the
coronavirus epidemic, reflecting the havoc that the contagion has played on individual
and group pursuits and pastimes in the city.
The stoppage became official on Mar 28 when the Leisure and
Cultural Services Department announced the closure of all its free outdoor
leisure facilities in view of social distancing measures adopted by the
government to help contain the infection.
Outdoor facilities that the LCSD closed down include soccer
pitches, basketball courts, volleyball courts, handball courts, badminton
courts, barbecue sites, cycling facilities except for cycle paths, and the Pui O
campsite in Lantau.
The department had earlier closed beaches and indoor venues
that the public frequent on weekends and public holidays as part of the
government’s bid to stop Covid-19 from spreading.
Hit by the closures were migrant worker sports groups including
SCC Divas, the first all-Filipino domestic worker cricket team globally and
Fate, a powerhouse softball team also made up of OFWs.
Divas, which has been the champion in the Hong Kong cricket women’s
development league for the past two seasons, has seen its campaign this season
in the premier league cancelled due to the Covid-19 emergency measures.
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| Divas' Arimas hiking with a friend in Tai Lam: It may take awhile before they go this way again |
“Abandoned na ang mga laro sa Hong Kong .
Di natapos ang league, next season na lang daw sa September,” Divas founder and
captain Josie Arimas said on Apr 8.
The only completed fixture this season was the T10 women’s tournament
that was won by KCC Maidens, and in which Divas placed sixth, Arimas said.
But the women’s premier league and the women’s development league,
two tournaments in which Divas plays, have been abandoned for this season,
Cricket Hong Kong said in an advisory to all clubs on Apr 2.
The women’s T20 league has been suspended, and Cricket Hong
Kong said “an elimination match and the final may be played if grounds are
opened by May. If this is not possible, the league will be abandoned.”
Softball pitches are also closed.
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| Gaborno (leftmost) misses these warm-ups and playing softball games with fellow Fate players |
Fate, last season’s champion in the Hong Kong Softball Association women’s Bracket B league, has had no matches since anti-Covid
measures were adopted in early February, said founder and team captain Don
Gaborno.
Playing in Bracket A last year, Fate managed to win just one
match against top Hong Kong teams whose
players included members of the city’s national team.
“Hoping this season makabawi sana sana
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“May 3 may schedule kami. Sana OK
Athletes like Gaborno and Arimas as well as their players
used to go to the pitches to practice whenever they get a break from their
daily work, but they admit the “stay at home” measure of the government has
also grounded most of them.
“Nasanay kaming nasa field every Sunday. Kaya parang naging
hobby namin for now ay home exercise muna para di ma-stock ang mga kaugatan namin,”
the captain said.
Arimas said most of her players are unable to go hiking, for
now the only outdoor activity that migrant workers can engage in, given the
social distancing protocol of allowing only up to four people to gather in
public places.
However, the players cannot go out without their employers’
consent.
Gaborno and the team usually go out hiking when the softball
season is over or during holiday breaks. She said the last time they hit the
trails was in January, when they trekked the Tung Chung-Ngong Ping trail in
Lantau.
Some dedicated hiking groups still manage to climb Hong Kong ’s hills and mountains but in smaller packs.
Even then, this activity was curtailed by recent rains and, worse, job losses
related to Covid-19 and “stay at home” restrictions.
