MANILA – Malacañang said on Monday that the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) will give cash assistance worth US$200 (around PHP10,000) for every overseas Filipino worker (OFW) in Hong Kong who tested positive for coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19).
This announcement was made by Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles, who is also the acting presidential spokesperson, as he assured that the Philippine government, through the Philippine Overseas Labor Office (POLO), is now extending aid to Covid-infected OFWs in Hong Kong.
He stated that the POLO immediately distributed food, hygiene kits, and power banks to OFWs in the area so that they could communicate while waiting for calls from the Center for Health Protection and the HK Labor Department.
He noted that the POLO collaborated with a non-government organization to give an isolation facility to accommodate various OFWs.
The POLO also coordinated with the HK Labor Department, which established an isolation facility for our kababayans, pending admission to the quarantine facility, apart from providing transportation arrangements, he added.
He further stated that the POLO has also given US$200 for after-care financial assistance to those who recovered from Covid-19.
Five out of 28 OFWs in Hong Kong who contracted Covid-19 have totally recovered as of February 19. Out of the five, three have returned to their respective employers.
The Department of Labor and Employment on Sunday denied claims that a number of Filipino domestic workers in Hong Kong had been fired after testing positive for Covid-19.
All OFWs who contracted Covid-19 are being monitored by the POLO and the Philippine Consulate General (PCG), according to Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III.
Employers who fire Filipino workers because they contracted Covid-19 will be “blacklisted,” the PCG in Hong Kong said.
As of last week, healthcare facilities in the Chinese territory were at 90 percent capacity due to an unprecedented spike in Covid-19 cases caused by the Omicron variant.
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