A 78-year-old Temple Street priest is assisted and resettled by a 78-year-old temple street priest who was kicked out by his employer for quarantine in his private car

The fifth wave of the epidemic continued, with more than 50,000 confirmed cases in a single day today (3rd).

In recent months, after a foreign domestic helper was diagnosed, he was immediately asked by his employer to leave and was forced to sleep on the street. Although some were allowed to stay, they were asked to be isolated in the car and not allowed to return to their residence.

After hearing about the situation, Temple Street priest John Wotherspoon set out to find a place for these foreign domestic helpers, so that the sick would not end up on the streets.

He eventually succeeded in renting more than ten units, and separated confirmed and recovered patients into different units, and provided them with three meals and anti-epidemic materials.

At present, more than 50 FDHs in need are being assisted, and about three-fifths of them have recovered after recuperation.

Jeffrey Andrews, an Indian social worker who helped them, said that after understanding that foreign domestic helpers were infected, employers would have concerns, but they hoped that they would not drive them away as soon as they learned that foreign domestic helpers were diagnosed with the virus. Let the foreign domestic helper be quarantined at the home first. If there is not enough space in the home, you can seek assistance from some NGOs for placement.

Andri also hoped that the authorities would prioritize these homeless workers into quarantine facilities.

Lucia, who assisted and resettled foreign domestic helpers who were infected with the virus, said that she first received contact from HELP, an NGO that helps foreign domestic helpers, and then sought assistance from Hu Songheng, known as the "Temple Street Priest".

Father Hu started to provide assistance to foreign domestic helpers in need in mid-February.

The affected foreign domestic helpers are all people who have been diagnosed or have been diagnosed, mainly from the Philippines and Indonesia, and also from Thailand and India. They are all homeless and facing the problem of zero income.

There are three main reasons for them to seek assistance. They are that their employers ask them to leave their residences immediately when they know they are diagnosed with the disease; some foreign domestic helpers find themselves diagnosed at the airport before returning to their hometowns, and they cannot get on the plane, but have nowhere to go; Some of them found that they were diagnosed with the disease when they temporarily lived in the dormitory arranged by the intermediary company after the contract was completed, and were driven away by the intermediary company.

Lucia (middle), who helped and resettled foreign domestic helpers who were infected with the virus, said that she was contacted by HELP, an NGO that helps foreign domestic helpers, and then sought assistance from Hu Songheng (right), known as the "Priest of Temple Street".

(Photo by Andrea Jeffrey Andrews facebook)

Temporary resident volunteers in separate units for confirmed and recovered foreign domestic helpers deliver three meals a day

Lucia mentioned that some employers even isolate the confirmed foreign domestic helper in a private car parked in an open-air parking lot, and only give a quilt during the period, ignoring the basic needs of the foreign domestic helper.

When Father Wu learned of their condition, he looked for a place to help them resettle them. Currently, he rents more than ten units for the confirmed and recovered patients to live in temporarily, and he will also provide enough anti-epidemic materials.

Father Hu and other volunteers will also deliver three meals a day to the confirmed foreign domestic helpers. As for the recovered people, they will also be subsidized to go downstairs to buy meals on their own.

Lucia revealed that since most of the rented places are vacant units, foreign domestic helpers need to temporarily sleep on mattresses, but bunk beds have been purchased one after another.

Lucia emphasized that the positive and negative FDHs will live in separate units. Lucia pointed out that the FDHs who live in will undergo rapid tests every day. If a FDH is found to have changed from positive to negative, she will be immediately separated from the positive patient.

At present, there are more than 50 foreign domestic helpers receiving assistance, of which 23 are confirmed cases, and the rest have recovered after recuperation.

Employers have young children who have assisted the confirmed foreign domestic helper to find a hotel for isolation without success

Indian-born social worker Jeffrey Andrews revealed that yesterday (2nd) he also assisted the organization in preparing meals for related parties.

He said that the agency he worked for had received many help from foreign domestic helpers earlier, and his wife also found on social networking sites that a confirmed foreign domestic helper had been asked by the employer to leave, so he could only ask for help online.

When Andri contacted the foreign domestic helper, he found that she had been sitting in the park for most of the day. Although she kept seeking assistance, including calling the Philippine consulate, the foreign domestic helper involved could not get a reply because the consulate had already passed its office hours. .

The foreign domestic helper revealed that the main reason why she was kicked out by her employer was that she had a newborn baby in her employer's home, so she was very worried that her child would be infected with the virus.

She described that at first her employer also tried to find a hotel for her, but she couldn't find it, so she was forced to live on the street in the end.

Andri, an Indian-origin social worker, expects that the situation of foreign domestic helpers being expelled due to the diagnosis will only get worse in the future.

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Helping foreign domestic helpers surged by 20 in two days

Andri asked Father Hu to help settle the foreign domestic helper. He expects that the situation of the foreign domestic helper being expelled due to the diagnosis will only get worse in the future. More than 30, but today has increased to more than 50.

Andri also pointed out that when he helped deliver meals yesterday, he noticed that some of the foreign domestic helpers who were diagnosed were unstable and cried from time to time.

He also admitted that he was worried about Father Hu's health, "Because Father Shi is already 78 years old, 𠵱 Jiazhong has to deliver meals to the positive sister every day, so I'm afraid it will be very dangerous if something happens to her."

If Father Hu was unfortunately diagnosed, it would be difficult to find others to take over and assist this group of forgotten foreign domestic helpers.

Indian social worker Andri admitted frankly worried about Father Hu's health, "Because Father Shi is already 78 years old, 𠵱 Jiazhong has to deliver meals to her positive sister every day, so I'm afraid that something will be very dangerous for her."

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Andri understands that this is the most difficult time, and hopes that everyone can help each other. He believes that Hong Kong is a place full of empathy. For example, after he shared the incident of Father Wu assisting foreign domestic helpers on social platforms, he immediately received support from many enthusiastic citizens. and donate food to foreign domestic helpers in need.

In addition, he also appealed to employers to take an extra step when they find out that foreign domestic helpers have been diagnosed with the disease, such as separating them into separate spaces. If there is insufficient space in the home, they can seek assistance from non-governmental organizations for placement, rather than requiring the infected foreign domestic helper to leave the residence immediately.

Andri also urged the government to reserve some isolation facilities and give priority to the homeless people.

Epidemic ｜ Some foreign domestic helpers were evicted from their homes due to the epidemic. Equal opportunity: or constitutes illegal disability discrimination. Nine homeless foreign domestic helpers contracted the epidemic and asked to be quarantined at home. Stay-at-home trade union: Work in disguise for seven days without rest

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