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| Most Philippine testing centers guarantee results upwards of 3 days |
A group of employment agencies has called on the Hong Kong government to extend to seven days the validity
of the Covid-19 testing for Filipino and Indonesian domestic workers who will
fly in from Jul 25, from the current 72 hours.
The Hong Kong Union of Employment Agencies said in a press
release issued on Jul 20 that the requirement was not realistic as most swab
tests carried out overseas are not released within 72 hours.
In the
The Philippine Red Cross, which charges the cheapest fee of
between Php1158 and Php4,000, takes a week to send the test result.
The agencies said that the 7-day validity is in line with
the standard set by the neighboring city of Guangdong
Even if some tests results are released within 48 hours, the
statement said the time left for employers to confirm the worker’s ticket and
hotel booking for quarantine is too short.
Should the worker fail to meet the requirement in time and
misses her flight, the employer will end up shouldering a huge cost.
In the HKUEA's estimate,
the total cost for the failed test fee, cancelled flight and hotel booking
would amount to around $10,000.
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| HKUEA earlier called on the government to provide a centralized quarantine facility for FDWs |
Because of such problems, the Union predicted that the FDW
deployments to Hong Kong will fall sharply,
despite the strong demand from employers, and the sending countries might also
stop sending their workers here.
The new travel restrictions for people flying into Hong Kong
from seven countries including the Philippines
The other countries affected previously described by
government as “high risk” for Covid-19 are Bangladesh ,
India , Indonesia , Nepal ,
Pakistan and South Africa
Aside from testing negative for the virus within the
prescribed time before the flight, the worker must also present a certificate
that the laboratory that conducted the test was accredited by the government.
Also required is proof of confirmation of a hotel booking in
Hong Kong for no less than 14 days, the
required period for the mandatory quarantine.
The new restrictions were drawn up in the wake of a number
of travelers from the affected countries testing positive for Covid-19 on
arrival at Hong Kong
Airport.
