YES! No Quarantine to Enter Hong Kong from Mainland from Mid-May

Yesterday afternoon, Carrie Lam, Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region revealed at a press conference, that from mid-May, the SAR government will provide mainlanders with "Easy Entry to Hong Kong"; meaning that you can be exempted from the 14-day quarantine when you arrive in Hong Kong... and there is no vaccination requirement.

Carrie Lam said at the press conference that the fourth wave of the epidemic is clearly under control and Hong Kong is a low-risk area. She subsequently announced a new round of anti-epidemic measures by the SAR government, saying that in the future, the SAR government will use the "vaccine bubble" as the basis to adjust social distancing measures, including relaxing the maximum number of people per table in restaurants and dinning hours.

The scope of "Easy Return to Hong Kong" will be expanded from the end of this month

This press conference mainly focused on the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government's vaccinations-related epidemic prevention measures. The purpose is to encourage more citizens to vaccinate to form herd immunity, so that Hong Kong can gradually return to normal life and resume personnel exchanges with other regions.

At present, all social distancing measures in Hong Kong will still be extended for two weeks until April 28. The SAR government pointed out:

✔ Plan to extend the "Easy Return to Hong Kong" program from Guangdong Province to all provinces and cities in the Mainland by the end of this month. Eligible Hong Kong residents who return to Hong Kong by land or by plane will be exempted from quarantine;
✔ New "Easy Entry to Hong Kong" program will be launched as soon as mid-May. Eligible Mainland residents or foreigners living or working in the Mainland can be exempted from the 14 day quarantine when they come to Hong Kong.

The SAR government also stated that the Guangdong Provincial Government agreed to relax the inspection restrictions for cross-border truck drivers at the port. After completing their vaccinations, cross-border truck drivers can undergo testing every 3 days instead of daily, starting as soon as this week.

✔   Regarding quarantine requirements for people arriving in Hong Kong from overseas areas: People arriving in Hong Kong from low-risk areas identified by the SAR government, namely Australia, Singapore and New Zealand, can reduce their quarantine time from 14 days to 7 days as long as they have been vaccinated. The quarantine requirements for arrivals from medium-risk areas have been reduced from 21 days to 14 days or less. At the same time, the SAR government will lift restrictions on entering Hong Kong from Britain by early May, but it will still require 21 days of testing and mandatory inspections after arriving in the port.
✔ Regarding the "tourism bubble", the SAR government revealed that it is re-negotiating with the Singapore government so that citizens who have completed the vaccination can travel to the local area according to the agreement.✔   Regarding the arrangements for visits to homes for the elderly and homes for the disabled, the SAR government stated that it will resume limited visits. Visitors can visit if they have a negative test result 14 days after the two doses of vaccinations are completed. The specific arrangements and details of the visit will be discussed by the industry.

If you would like to get vaccinated, foreigners in Guangdong province can now register for appointments to get the vaccine. Click here for more info. As of this afternoon, more locations in Shenzhen have already begun to appear in the registration app.

In Guangdong Province, foreigners 18 to 59 years old, and some who are over 60 years old who need to be vaccinated for special reasons and have good physical conditions, can be voluntarily vaccinated.

After the appointment is successful, you need to follow the relevant notices and guidelines and go to the designated vaccination point for vaccination.

Source: 定了！5月中旬起，内地人去香港将免14天隔离

NOTE: There is still no news yet about whether we will be able to skip quarantine when returning to Mainland China from Hong Kong, with or without having been vaccinated. We will share about that when more information becomes available so be sure to scan the qr code below to follow us for the latest info.

Scan to follow ShekouDaily for
the latest updates

RECOMMENDED READING: