By The SUN
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| Patrol teams issuing 'reminders' to FDWs near New Town Plaza in Shatin |
Joint patrols by Hong Kong Police and other government
departments ventured farther out yesterday and today, Jan 10, to remind foreign
domestic workers to maintain social distancing and keep their masks on in
public places.
Among the new places visited by the enforcement teams were New
Town Plaza in Shatin and Ma On Shan Park, according to a press release issued
by the government late on Sunday.
Unlike in previous weekends, however, no mention was made of
anyone being issued a fixed penalty ticket that costs $5,000.
In the Christmas and New Year weekends, joint patrols of the
government agencies issued $5,000 fixed penalty tickets to a total of 94
offenders, including two Filipina helpers who were caught with their masks off
at Statue Square and Tamar Park.
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| The teams were also busy in Ma On Shan Park |
The sorties were led by the Labour Department, and also
included staff from Food and Environmental Hygiene Department, Home Affairs
Department and Leisure and Cultural Services Department.
As before, the teams were very visible in places favored by
Filipino domestic workers, like the City Hall-Edinburgh Place area in Central,
Tamar Park in Admiralty, and the footbridge on Fa Yuen Street in Mong Kok.
The press release said that mobile broadcasts in Chinese, Filipino,
Indonesian and Thai languages were made to remind FDWs to comply with the
regulations on mask-wearing and the prohibition on group gatherings of more
than two persons in public places.
The groups again handed out promotional leaflets in different languages, appealing
to FDWs to maintain environmental hygiene and refrain from unlicensed hawking,
including selling cooked food and other merchandise.
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| But Edinburgh Place in Central was still on their list |
The police increased manpower to step up patrols at the
migrant workers’ haunts and the FEHD took follow-up actions to keep those
places clean.
The press release said the government will continue to conduct publicity to remind
FDWs to strictly observe the relevant regulations and avoid gatherings (including
in boarding houses), food sharing and other social activities on their rest
days.
The migrant workers were also urged to rest at home on their
days off as far as possible “to safeguard their personal health” and “to exercise
self-discipline and cooperate to fight the virus together and abide by the law.”
