Number Of Helpers Arriving Must Be Controlled: CE

Chief Executive Carrie Lam on Tuesday said Hong Kong cannot allow thousands of foreign domestic workers to arrive in the city each week and their numbers will have to be controlled.

The CE said officials are expected to give more details this week on a plan to start allowing helpers from the Philippines and Indonesia to travel to the SAR for work. A ban on flights from the two countries due to the pandemic has led to a shortage of helpers in the territory.

But speaking to the media before this week's Executive Council meeting, Lam said the arrival of new migrant workers must be carried out in an orderly manner, and employers will have to be patient.

"The number of foreign domestic helpers who could come back to Hong Kong through this special arrangement has to be rationed, has to be controlled," she said.

"We could not allow thousands of foreign domestic helpers to come in every week, otherwise, the chance of having more confirmed cases either discovered at the airport or discovered during the quarantine periods will overload Hong Kong's public hospital system."

The government has already identified one hotel where helpers who are vaccinated against Covid-19 will spend 21 days in quarantine. This is understood to be the Silka Hotel in Tsuen Wan.