Domestic workers entry scheme extended to all nationalities

The pilot program for the entry of foreigners to perform domestic work will be extended to people from all nationalities starting from May 30. 

Coordinator of the local Center for Disease Control and Prevention Dr. Leong Iek Hou said that the scheme, initially limited to Filipino nationals and recently extended to Indonesians, can now be used to hire domestic workers of any nationality.

The government will not impose quotas or limits on this scheme as “the number of applications we have been received is lower than what we initially expected.”

So far, the authorities have received a total of 38 applications for this pilot program of which 23 were approved. As for the other 15, she said that in two cases the applications were withdrawn by the applicants, and 13 had been rejected due to failure to meet some of the eligibility criteria. All other criteria, as well as application procedures, remain unchanged.

No plans to reduce or subsidize quarantines

Leong was questioned on factors that justify the limited number of applications under the domestic workers’ pilot scheme, and was asked if the government is thinking of reducing the number of required days in quarantine or subsidizing quarantine for domestic workers.  To all questions Leong resolutely responded that the government would not agree.

“We understand that there are several factors influencing the figures of the applications, the cost related to the quarantines is certainly one, but there are others. Maybe some workers are also not interested in coming to Macau. We are not going to subsidize the quarantine, nor can we further reduce quarantine costs,” Leong said, adding, “in relation to the number of quarantine days, the criteria that we are using is based on science, it is not an economic policy. These are the number of days necessary to ensure the safety of the population.”

Asked about the policies of some cities in the mainland that have adopted the so-called 10+7 formula (10 days in a quarantine hotel + 7 days in self-health management at home), Leong said that the local government is “evaluating the results of these experiments to see if such a method is feasible for Macau.”