BREAKING: Hong Kong lifts all restrictions on arrivals to city
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By Tony Cheung for South China Morning Post
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• Arrivals from Wednesday who test negative will no longer need an amber health code and can enter restaurants and other premises previously off limits to them
• New rules will also do away with scanning of QR code on app to enter citywide premises, but restaurant patrons and entrants to certain venues will still need to show jabs record
Hong Kong is scrapping its amber health code from Wednesday, effectively lifting all travel restrictions for arrivals into the city who test negative and removing a key source of frustration for travellers who are subjected to curbs during their first three days of stay.
Travellers currently arriving in Hong Kong are put under a “0+3” regime, issued an amber code on their health app, and cannot enter restaurants until they test negative after three days.
But with the move, Hong Kong is effectively adopting the 0+0 regime, and all incoming travellers who test negative will be given a blue code on their health app and can move about the city freely.
Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu on Tuesday announced the new measures before his weekly meeting with the Executive Council, his key decision-making body.
Under the new rules, those who test positive will still get a red health code and have to follow the usual isolation protocols.
Lee also said that from Wednesday, residents would not need to scan QR codes with their “Leave Home Safe” app to record visits to premises, but restaurant patrons and entrants to designated venues still need to present their vaccination records.
“The decisions were based on data and risks. The infection risk from imported cases is lower than the risk from local infections. We believe that the lifting [of the measures] will not increase the risk of local outbreaks,” Lee said.
Health authorities recorded 14,717 cases on Monday, of which 5 per cent, or 704 cases, were imported.
Asked if Hong Kong’s border with Chinese mainland could also be reopened soon, Lee said his government had been very active in negotiating with central authorities on the matter. “The mainland authorities also attach much importance to this,” he added.
From last Friday, residents and arrivals infected with Covid-19 have been allowed to leave isolation on the fifth day instead of the seventh, if they test negative for two days in a row. The shortened period also applies to unvaccinated close contacts, previously required to isolate or quarantine for seven days.
The catering sector earlier expressed disappointment over the lack of changes in social-distancing rules, pointing out their Christmas and new year business would be affected.
Across the border, as part of the newly eased policy, Covid-19 patients with mild or no symptoms can isolate at home for five days instead of having to spend a week at a centralised government facility. Their close contacts can also quarantine at home for five days instead of eight.
Mainland residents no longer need to present a green health code, previously issued to PCR-negative users, when entering public places, except hospitals, schools and care homes for the elderly.
Source: South China Morning Post
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