Domestic workers in Hong Kong who were diagnosed with Covid-19 have been left homeless after being fired or refused their return to the residence, according to support groups.
Many of the workers, who are mostly women from Indonesia and the Philippines, were left without insurance to cover their medical bills.
Hong Kong is in the midst of its worst ever outbreak of Omicron variant, which has overwhelmed hospitals and government isolation facilities.
Tens of thousands of people can't find a place to stay because of strict policies of isolation for patients and close contacts.
In the cases of dozen of domestic workers, their employers have refused to let them.
There are an estimated 390,000 domestic workers in Hong Kong who work six days a week for a minimum of HK$4 630 (US$593) a month. They are required to live with their employers and are not allowed to live outside of them.
Maria, a domestic worker from the Philippines, tested positive for a vaccine. She said her employer gave her three options: pay for her own stay in a hotel for two weeks, go to the hospital, or have her contract terminated.
I went to the hospital in the morning but there were so many patients that I couldn't come.
HELP For Domestic Workers found Maria a place in a shelter after she was stranded at midnight. Workers have been forced to sleep in parks, overpasses, or outside hospitals.
HELP said they were helping more than 100 homeless workers, including at least a dozen who were fired or ordered not to return to the home.
The Hong Kong residents who were firing and evicting their workers of illegal and immoral acts were accused by the Philippines consul to the city.
If it can be proven that they were asked to leave because of their sickness, this can be considered an illegal dismissal under the employment law in Hong Kong.
We are engaging the employers to explain to them that it is illegal to fire their employees in these difficult times if they are positive. It is immoral.
The executive director of HELP said that many employers were scared that their families could get sick or be sent to a scurvy facility as close contacts of the ill worker.
I don't think there is a malicious intent there. She said that the fear is driving everyone at the moment.
The women were left homeless for up to four nights in Hong Kong's winter.
Hong Kong residents were urged to support their domestic workers who fell ill.
It is a scary time and everyone is worried for their own safety, but the domestic worker is part of the family. She said that they are the ones who take care of you on a day to day basis.
According to HELP and other NGOs, most cases of stranded workers are people who tested positive for a drug and were denied boarding.
Mai said she was refused entry to the boarding house where she had been staying after she tested positive for a drug.
They gave me a tent and a thick blanket so I wouldn't feel cold. She said she slept the whole night outside. The facilities that house people in between jobs or waiting for flights are ill equipped to also house Covid patients.
The government has said it is working with other countries to help workers who lost their jobs.
Maria wants to return to her job because she has three children to support, but will look for new employers.
I don't know if I will get sick again. I don't think I should go back to them if they do this again.
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