Migrant workers are seen amongst pedestrians as they gather on a footbridge on their weekly Sunday off day in Hong Kong's Central district on Sept 24, 2017. (TENGKU BAHAR / AFP)

The Philippines will allow citizens employed in Hong Kong and Macao to return to their jobs, partially lifting a ban imposed earlier this month to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus.

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Filipino workers returning to Hong Kong and Macao will have to “make a written declaration that they know the risks of going back,” presidential spokesman Salvador Panelo said at a televised briefing

A government task force decided to exempt those working in Hong Kong and Macao from the travel ban “subject to certain formalities,” Foreign Affairs Undersecretary Brigido Dulay said on his Twitter account on Tuesday. The government also lifted on Feb 14 a days-old travel ban on Taiwan.

Filipino workers returning to Hong Kong and Macao will have to “make a written declaration that they know the risks of going back,” presidential spokesman Salvador Panelo said at a televised briefing.

The decision will allow thousands of migrant workers stranded in the Philippines to return to their jobs abroad. The Southeast Asian nation’s overseas workers contribute more than US$30 billion in remittances comprising about 9 percent of the country’s gross domestic product.

The Philippines announced its decision before Hong Kong reported that a Filipina domestic helper became its 61st case of coronavirus in the city.

There was no immediate comment from Philippine officials on how the latest development in Hong Kong will affect its decision to relax its travel restriction.

The Philippines also said it would allow foreign spouses or children of Filipinos and holders of diplomatic visas travelling from the Chinese mainland, Hong Kong and Macao to enter the country but they will be subjected to a 14-day quarantine.

Initially, only Filipinos and holders of permanent resident visas travelling from these areas were allowed entry.

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Some 11 percent of Hong Kong households employ a domestic worker, a ratio that jumps to 30 percent among married couples with children and 43 percent when both parents work. The government also credits the availability of foreign domestic workers for the rising labor force participation rate for female citizens.

The Philippine government also said it will repatriate Filipino crew and passengers from the quarantined cruise ship Diamond Princess who wish to come home

Recruiters have appealed to the government to exempt Filipino workers from the travel ban because many of them are breadwinners. They could also lose their visas if they failed to report for work on time, the Society of Hong Kong Accredited Recruiters of the Philippines has said.

In 2019, Filipino workers in Hong Kong sent home US$801 million in foreign exchange remittances, central bank data showed.

The Philippine government also said it will repatriate Filipino crew and passengers from the quarantined cruise ship Diamond Princess who wish to come home.

The cruise ship, owned by Carnival Corp and carrying some 3,700 passengers and crew, has been quarantined in Yokohama since Feb 3, after a man who disembarked in Hong Kong before it traveled to Japan was diagnosed with the virus.

The Philippine Foreign Ministry said 35 of the 538 Filipinos onboard had tested positive for the coronavirus, including the eight new cases, who are all crew members.

In the Philippines, there have been three confirmed cases of coronavirus, including one death.