Hong Kong Updates Requirements, Scraps Mandatory Vaccination
HONG KONG – On Tuesday, the government of Hong Kong gave updates to their requirements for Foreign Domestic Workers.
Previously, a mandatory vaccination was required if domestic workers wanted to work in Hong Kong. However, following massive outcry and a diplomatic exchange between HK and the Philippines, the mandate has been scrapped.
Health officials initially planned to start the mandatory vaccinations for 370,000 domestic workers in the city. For the most part, poorly paid women from the PH and Indonesia were covered.
But on Tuesday, city leader Carrie Lam revoked the mandate saying:
The government has decided not to request mandatory vaccination when helpers renew their contracts
According to Lam, the decision was made after meeting with officials from the Philippines and Indonesia. Recently, Philippines Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin commented that the initial proposal was “smacked of discrimination”.
This comes after news of wealthier foreign migrants were not forced to get vaccinated. More concerning was that the outbreaks of COVID-19 were traced back to the well-esteemed districts of the upper class.
Currently, only 16 percent of the Hong Kong’s 7.5 million population have received one or more shots of COVID-19 vaccines. But, this is still far from the target of 60-70 percent, the ideal number for herd immunity.
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