Govt To Quarantine Helpers At Penny's Bay

Chief Executive Carrie Lam said on Tuesday that foreign domestic helpers arriving from overseas will be allowed to undergo quarantine at the Penny's Bay camp from the end of next month.

Speaking to reporters before the weekly Executive Council meeting, Lam said that since there are now no local Covid-19 cases, the facility with 3,000 rooms built to quarantine close contacts of patients can be used to quarantine helpers arriving from Indonesia and the Philippines.

She said 800 rooms will be available at a daily rate of probably no more than HK$500 each.

"It is a cost-recovery charge, preliminary calculation is no more than 500 dollars. If it is lower than 500, of course we will charge the lower level because we only aim to recover costs," she said.

Lam said the government plans to run the facility itself.

"There is an abundance of work to be done, because we have to come up with a computer booking system. We will make use of the Civil Aid Service and other departments."

She added that the facility will be taking bookings before it starts accepting helpers in three weeks' time.

The only other quarantine facility designated for helpers, the Silka Tsuen Wan Hotel, is fully booked until early November.