Indonesian domestic helpers are to be allowed back into Macao, with applications being accepted from next Monday.
The move follows yesterday’s announcement that any family in the city could employ helpers from the Philippines, and signals a slight relaxation of the tight immigration restrictions imposed to combat the Covid-19 pandemic.
Leong Iek Hou, who heads the Communicable Disease Prevention and Control Division of the Health Bureau (SSM) said the new programme for Indonesian domestic helpers will also have no restrictions on the age and health condition of employers’ family members, as had previously been the case.
However, both domestic helpers and their employers must abide by all current regulations concerning vaccination, quarantine and immigration.
Leong also pledged that the SSM will assess whether domestic helpers from other foreign countries, such as Vietnam, can also be covered by its entry ban exemptions, The Macau Post Daily reported.
Leong also said that the government has so far received 20 applications for the programme for Filipino domestic helpers since its launch. He said that eight of the applications have been approved, while eight others have been rejected, and the remaining four cases were still being assessed.
