Labour Department

The Government today (March 10) reminded foreign domestic helpers (FDHs) and their employers that the flexibility arrangements to cope with the COVID-19 pandemic will be discontinued on May 1. Employers and FDHs should discuss matters relating to employment, contract renewals or the return to FDHs' places of origin as soon as possible to avoid breaching the relevant requirements.

Taking into account the development of the pandemic and the gradual relaxation of inbound control measures, the Government announced on December 19, 2022, the discontinuation of the flexibility arrangements on May 1(www.info.gov.hk/gia/general/202212/19/P2022121900349.htm). Details are set out below:

Extension of validity period of existing contracts

For all FDH contracts expiring on or before April 30, employers may apply for extending the validity period of the existing contracts with their outgoing FDHs. For such contracts, the Commissioner for Labour has given in-principle consent for extending the employment period stated in Clause 2 of the Standard Employment Contract (SEC) for a maximum period of six months, on the basis that such variation is mutually agreed upon by both the employers and FDHs concerned. However, applications for further extension of contracts which have already been extended under the previously announced flexibility arrangements will not be considered. If an employer needs to continue to employ his/her FDH beyond the six-month extended period, the employer should consider applying for a contract renewal with the existing FDH. All such applications should reach the Immigration Department (ImmD) on or before the contract expiry dates. Late submissions will not be accepted.

The flexibility arrangements on extending the validity period of existing contracts for six months is not applicable to FDH contracts expiring on or after May 1. These employers may still, according to Clause 15(a) of the SEC, vary Clause 2 of the SEC to extend the period of employment by not more than one month by mutual agreement between the employers and the FDHs, and with approval from the Director of Immigration.

Deferral of return to place of origin

Under normal circumstances, an FDH on a renewed contract with the same employer, or due to start a new contract with a new employer, upon the expiry of an existing contract, may apply to the ImmD for deferring his/her return to the place of origin for not more than one year after the existing contract ends, subject to the agreement of his/her current employer or new employer.

If the aforementioned one-year period expires on or before April 30, the FDH may submit an application to the ImmD within eight weeks prior to the expiry of the existing limit of stay to further extend the limit of stay until the end of his/her contract. All such applications should reach the ImmD on or before April 30. Late submissions will not be accepted. The Government reminds employers and FDHs that the above flexibility arrangements must be mutually agreed between them, and that the requirement of FDHs returning to their places of origin remains in force. Employers should arrange for their FDHs to return to their place of origin within the extended limit of stay.

If the aforementioned one-year period expires on or after May 1, the period for them to return to the place of origin will not be further extended. Employers should arrange for their FDHs to return to their places of origin within the current limit of stay and then return to Hong Kong within the validity of the entry visa issued to the FDHs for completion of the contract.

The Government urges employers and their FDHs to discuss matters relating to employment, contract renewals or the return to FDHs' places of origin as soon as possible. They should also be mindful of the limit of stay and the passport validity of the FDHs and arrange applications for visas and replacement of passports in advance.

For enquiries on FDH visa applications, please contact the ImmD by calling the enquiry hotline at 2824 6111 or by sending an email toenquiry@immd.gov.hk. For enquiries on employment rights and benefits of FDHs, please contact the Labour Department (LD) at the dedicated FDH hotline at 2157 9537 (manned by 1823) or by email to fdh-enquiry@labour.gov.hk. The dedicated FDH portal (www.fdh.labour.gov.hk) set up by the LD also provides information and useful links relating to the employment of FDHs.

Having assessed the latest epidemic development, the Government announced today (February 28) that all mandatory mask-wearing requirements will be lifted with effect from tomorrow (March 1), thereby enabling the society to resume normalcy in full.

Hong Kong has already built up a strong immunity barrier, coupled with the enhancement of prevention and treatment capacities of the healthcare system and the handling capacity of society as a whole. The risk posed by COVID-19 to local public health has apparently altered. Having gone through three years of COVID-19 epidemic, various monitoring indicators in epidemic activities are recently on a steady downward trend and the winter influenza season is also coming to an end. In addition, the community is in strong aspiration to resume full normalcy as early as possible. In the light of the aforementioned factors, the Government has decided to lift all mask-wearing requirements with effect from tomorrow.

Starting from tomorrow, citizens will no longer be required to wear masks mandatorily onboard a public transport carrier, or within an MTR paid area, or in a specified public place (including both indoor and outdoor areas), as well as in premises regulated under the Prevention and Control of Disease (Requirements and Directions) (Business and Premises) Regulation (Cap. 599F).

Mask-wearing is still an effective way to reduce the risk of virus transmission while protecting the wearer and others. In order to continue to protect the high-risk groups, citizens entering certain venues such as medical facilities or residential care homes for the elderly or residential care homes for persons with disabilities still need to follow the administrative mask-wearing requirement. The Government appealed to the public to wear a mask when having respiratory symptoms. Persons with weakened immunity or chronic disease(s) should also wear a mask when they are present in a poorly ventilated place.

A Government spokesman said, "The Government will keep on monitoring closely the epidemic development and the overall operation of the public healthcare system, with a view to safeguarding public health."

The Government will publish in the Gazette the notice to suspend the relevant specification and directions issued under Cap. 599F and the Prevention and Control of Disease (Wearing of Mask) Regulation (Cap. 599I) to implement the aforementioned relaxation measure.

The Government today (January 19) said that, following three years of COVID-19 epidemic in Hong Kong, with the ever evolvement of the virus and Omicron becoming the predominating variant, coupled with the enhancement of prevention and treatment capacities of the healthcare system and the handling capacity of society as a whole, the risk posed by COVID-19 to local public health has apparently altered. Considering the balance between infection risks and resumption of economic and livelihood impetus, the Government decided to cancel the arrangement of issuing isolation orders to infected persons according to the Prevention and Control of Disease Regulation (Cap. 599A) from January 30.

Epidemic analysis

As observed from the fifth wave of the epidemic triggered by the Omicron variant since 2022, there were two peaks in early and end last year. Even though the Government has steadily adjusted the anti-epidemic measures since mid last year, including the gradual relaxation of social distancing measures and adjustment of testing and quarantine arrangements for inbound travellers, Hong Kong could still ride out the peak from the end of last year till now.

The number of cases tested positive in recent days has moderated gradually from the peak of about 30 000 cases on December 31 last year to only 3 793 cases on January 18 this year, while the proportion of death cases are remarkably lower compared to the peak in February and March last year. The public healthcare system has not been severely threatened. The following three factors could be concluded:

(1) The current overall second- and third-dose COVID-19 vaccination rates in Hong Kong have reached 93 per cent and 84 per cent respectively. With the immunity brought by a large amount of infected persons since the fifth wave of the epidemic, an effective vaccination rate equivalent to that of having received the third dose has reached around 95 per cent. The hybrid immunity barrier against COVID-19 in the overall community is very strong, and people who have completed vaccination have presented only mild symptoms after infection with Omicron variant.

(2) The public hospitals established effective contingency plans, together with the assistance of private hospitals and the prevalent use of telemedicine services and COVID-19 antiviral drugs, the general anti-epidemic capability of the healthcare system has strengthened.

(3) The anti-epidemic knowledge and experience of the general public accumulated considerably in the past three years, while the ability to prevent and handle infected cases of members of the public and residential care homes (RCHs) was enhanced.

To continue the gradual resumption to normalcy of society, the management and handling of the epidemic could be progressed to a new stage and mode by changing compulsory isolation regulations to self-decision by the public. The Government will cancel the compulsory isolation arrangement for infected persons, and advice on health measures would instead be issued to them. Apart from that, the Government will adjust the scope of target groups for free nucleic acid testing services at community testing centres/stations, including the termination of free testing provided for persons undergoing voluntary testing at appropriate times according to the situation, and to focus resources in protecting high-risk premises and groups in need of regular nucleic acid testing.

Nonetheless, as COVID-19 still brings risk and pressure to the community, especially among the young and old, as well as the healthcare system, and as there is still uncertainty in global epidemic situation, the Emergency Response Level for the COVID-19 epidemic will be maintained until further notice. The Government will also encourage members of the public who are in need of testing or are symptomatic to conduct rapid antigen tests (RATs) on their own or to seek medical attention as soon as possible.

Arrangement of cancelling of isolation orders

Starting from January 30, the Health Officer will no longer issue isolation orders to infected persons according to Cap. 599A. All persons tested positive (including by nucleic acid and RATs) are not required to report and provide personal particulars via the online platforms of the Centre for Health Protection (CHP) of the Department of Health (DH). The "Declaration System for Individuals Tested Positive for COVID-19 Using Rapid Antigen Test"(www.chp.gov.hk/ratp), the "Online self-reporting for COVID-19 patient"(www.chp.gov.hk/cdpi), as well as the relevant automatic telephone voice registration system (183 6119) will also cease operation on the same day.

Meanwhile, the Health Officer will cancel the active isolation orders issued by that time. In other words, those who are currently under isolation at designated premises including their places of residence or isolation facilities will no longer be required to continue their isolation starting from January 30. The Government will arrange for those staying in the isolation facilities to leave in an orderly manner and gazette the notice of relevant cancellation arrangements. In view of the aforementioned adjustments, the Government will also suspend the distribution of anti-epidemic kits to confirmed cases.

Health advice to infected persons

Members of the public who tested positive are advised to take the various advice on health measures for preventing respiratory diseases. They should: observe personal hygiene; reduce contacts with household members without wearing masks; open windows to ensure adequate ventilation of the unit; as well as clean and disinfect household environment every day.

For infected persons who belong to high-risk groups or develop obvious symptoms (e.g. fever, cough, shortness of breath, vomiting and diarrhoea), they should seek medical attention as soon as possible to obtain timely treatment. Symptomatic persons should stay at home for rest and avoid going out, while asymptomatic persons can go out on their will or go to work. To protect the young, students who have tested positive should not attend schools until they have tested negative by RATs. Infected persons should wear well-fitting surgical masks, KF94, KN95 masks, or respirators (such as N95 masks) during the first five days after testing positive. They should avoid having contact with high-risk individuals or having meals with other people at the same table. They should not go to crowded places or attend mass gatherings to lower the risk of transmission. Infected persons should observe their own health condition at all times, and seek medical attention as soon as possible if symptoms develop or worsen. As the Government will no longer issue isolation orders, those who do not feel well and in need of sick leave certificates should seek medical attention from a registered medical practitioner or Chinese medicine practitioner. Doctors will issue sick leave certificates and prescribe with prudence COVID-19 oral drugs to patients according to their clinical situation. People tested positive without symptoms should avoid going to public hospitals or general out-patient clinics with a view to preserving valuable public healthcare service capacity for those in need.

Arrangement on community isolation facilities

Having considered that some infected persons may wish to stay at the community isolation facilities (CIF) to minimise the risk of spreading COVID-19 in the household if their living environment is crowded or their household members fall into high-risk groups, the CIFs will remain in operation for a short period of time for use by Hong Kong residents. Recently infected persons who are Hong Kong residents and need to stay at CIFs may contact the Fire Services Department (Whatsapp platform: 5233 2939; Email: fsd_cif@hkfsd.gov.hk; WeChat: fsd_cif) for transfer arrangement if needed and can stay at the CIF for up to seven days. If they choose to leave the CIF earlier, negative results by RATs are not required but they cannot return to the CIF once they have left. Separately, residents at residential care homes who are infected and have received less than three doses of vaccine can be arranged to stay at the holding centres managed by the Social Welfare Department where care services are available. Residents who develop serious symptoms, regardless of the number of vaccine doses they have received, will be assessed by healthcare professionals based on their symptoms and conditions and be sent to hospitals for treatment if needed. The above transitional arrangement of CIFs and holding centres will last until February 28.

Reporting criteria and monitoring of viruses

Starting from January 30, the Government will revise the reporting criteria of COVID-19 under which doctors only need to report to the CHP death cases and severe cases. The CHP will issue letters to all doctors to inform them of the arrangement. As regards the monitoring of the epidemic and disseminating related information, the CHP will upload onto the "COVID-19 Thematic Website" (www.coronavirus.gov.hk) every day the number of specimens that tested positive by nucleic acid tests as well as the number of death cases reported by doctors and hospitals in lieu of the current practice of issuing press releases. Acting upon the World Health Organization (WHO)'s advice, the CHP will continue to monitor the development of the COVID-19 mutant strains by monitoring the surveillance data of sewage samples collected by the Environmental Protection Department in various districts and conducting COVID-19 genetic testing for in-patients. Relevant data will be reported to the WHO regularly. Together with the general out-patient clinics and private medical practitioners under the sentinel surveillance system, the CHP will monitor the weekly number of patients seeking medical consultation after being infected with COVID-19. Such surveillance data will be shared with doctors under the sentinel surveillance system.