Virus wave deepens grim conditions for Hong Kong domestic workers

This file photo taken on Feb. 20, 2022 shows officers (R) from the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department and the Leisure and Cultural Services Department observing foreign domestic helpers on their Sunday rest day in Hong Kong’s Central district, amid the city's worst-ever coronavirus outbreak. Few have suffered more during Hong Kong's pandemic restrictions than the hundreds of thousands of women from the Philippines and Indonesia who work as domestic helpers, and as the city reels under its most severe coronavirus wave to date, many are now at breaking point.

AFP / Bertha Wang

HONG KONG, China — Janice Obiang stifled sobs as she packed goods to send to the Philippines, gifts for loved ones she hasn't seen in years as life for domestic workers in virus-hit Hong Kong goes from bad to worse.

Few have suffered more during Hong Kong's pandemic restrictions than the hundreds of thousands of women from the Philippines and Indonesia who work as domestic helpers.

And as the city reels under its most severe coronavirus wave to date, many are now at breaking point. 

Full Story: https://www.philstar.com/headlines/2022/03/01/2164184/virus-wave-deepens-grim-conditions-hong-kong-domestic-workers