HONG KONG suspended flights from the Philippines, India, and Pakistan for two weeks starting today, Tuesday, after a new COVID-19 strain was detected, a move that will delay the deployment of over 1,000 overseas Filipino workers to the Asian financial hub.
“There will be two weeks of temporary suspension of deployment because Hong Kong’s border has been closed due to the pandemic,” POEA Administrator Bernard Olalia said yesterday in an online press briefing.
“More or less, that’s equal to about 1,300 OFWs bound for Hong Kong that will be affected,” he added.
The HK government said the three countries have been classified as “extremely high risk,” being the source of new COVID strains that have been detected in the city in the past 14 days.
The city reported 30 new COVID cases on Sunday, 29 of which were imported, marking the highest daily toll since March 15. Hong Kong has recorded over 11,600 cases in total and 209 deaths.
Olalia said their estimate is based on the 2,600 monthly deployment to HK amid the pandemic, a far cry from the 13,000 monthly deployment to the city before the contagion.
Olalia said majority of those expected to be affected are household service workers.
Despite this, Olalia said the POEA will continue to process the documents of Hong Kong-bound OFWs.
“Despite the temporary suspension, those who will have their Overseas Employment Certificate (OEC) issued will just have to wait for two weeks as their OEC will remain valid,” Olalia said.
Airlines impacted by the travel ban include carriers such as Cathay Pacific, Hong Kong Airlines, Vistara and Cebu Pacific. — With Reuters
