Hong Kong asked domestic workers to stay in to stop the spread of coronavirus. But some got infected at home by their employers

When the coronavirus outbreak reached Hong Kong, domestic worker Jinkie Alhambra followed guidance from the government and stayed home on her day off. But she ended up getting infected anyway, inside the apartment where she lives with her employer. "That's the irony of it," the 48-year-old Filipina said during a Skype interview from a hospital. "(I was) kind of frustrated but you have to move on, to face it, you can't hold a grudge."

Foreign domestic workers are required to live with their employers by law in Hong Kong. Days off are often spent with friends in public spaces but on January 30, the government appealed to the city's 390,000 domestic workers, urging them to stay home to contain the spread of the virus.

So far, 16 Filipinos in Hong Kong have tested positive for coronavirus, mostly domestic workers. The Philippine consulate says most of the domestic workers were infected by their employers who had traveled abroad. As the number of imported cases in the city continues to rise, domestic workers are facing increasingly challenging conditions.

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