DMW to send aid to Filipino workers in Macau affected by COVID surge

July 12, 2022

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THE DEPARTMENT of Migrant Workers (DMW) on Tuesday said it will send care packages and food aid to Filipino workers based in Macau who were affected by the weeklong suspension of non-essential businesses, including casinos, due to a rise in coronavirus cases.

“We are closely monitoring the situation because of the ‘no pay leave’ policy that the Macau government has declared for the entire week,” DMW Chief Susan V. Ople said in a statement.

DMW said Ms. Ople coordinated with officials of the Philippine Consulate in Macau over the weekend to plan the relief distribution.

Macau Chief Executive Ho lat Seng on July 9 ordered a weeklong suspension of all commercial and industrial activity as well as non-essential business, which directly affected 5,295 Filipinos working in the hotel and gaming industries.

There are over 26,000 Filipino workers in the special administrative zone of China, with half of them employed as domestic workers, according to the Macau government.

Macau has recorded about 1,500 COVID- 19 infections since mid-June.

It follows China’s “zero-COVID” policy, which implements strict lockdowns and mass testing for infections. — John Victor D. Ordoñez