HK Tightens Entry Rules for 16 Countries Battling Covid-19...

Hong Kong will tighten entry restrictions starting on Friday for arrivals from 16 countries battling a resurgence in Covid-19 cases, increasing their mandatory quarantine period to 21 days.

In another change of strategy, quarantine for fully vaccinated people returning from medium- and low-risk countries will also be increased to 14 days, based on a recommendation by the Centre for Health Protection’s (CHP) scientific committees. The government is planning to implement the measure “as soon as possible”.

The tougher new regime for the 16 countries, the second change to quarantine rules for overseas travellers in eight days, was unveiled on Monday following the infection of a domestic worker who had returned to Hong Kong from the US earlier this month. The helper was fully vaccinated and tested positive for antibodies but she was confirmed as infected on Saturday last week after completing seven days in quarantine.

“After considering a basket of factors, the government has decided to upgrade the risk grouping of 16 overseas places to impose more stringent boarding, quarantine and testing requirements on relevant inbound travellers in order to uphold the local barrier against the importation of Covid-19,” a government spokesman said.

The stricter system means travellers from the 15 new high-risk nations must be fully vaccinated for at least 14 days before boarding a flight to Hong Kong, then undergo 21 days of quarantine in a designated hotel upon arrival, with four tests during isolation and another one on the 26th day after landing in the city.

For those arriving from high-risk places, officials will only recognise vaccination records issued by Hong Kong, China and jurisdictions with a regulatory authority designated as stringent by the World Health Organization. Those recognised countries include Britain, Ireland, the US and France.

Unvaccinated travellers from Australia will now need to quarantine for 21 days – up from the current 14 – while fully jabbed arrivals will see their isolation extended from seven to 14 days, though the former figure still applies to those who also can produce a positive antibody test.

The countries already in the high-risk category are: Brazil, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Nepal, Pakistan, the Philippines, Russia, South Africa and Britain.

Under the scientific committees’ recommendations, arrivals from medium- and low-risk countries who are fully vaccinated and provide proof of having antibodies would need to undergo hotel quarantine for 14 days – from the current minimum period of a week – plus seven days of self-monitoring. They must also test negative for the virus on arrival and submit more regularly for screening.

Currently, travellers from the two groups fulfilling those conditions are subject to seven days in quarantine, but a positive antibody test is not needed for those in the low-risk category.

Alex Li Wai-chun, chairman of the Hong Kong Association of Medical Laboratories, said he believed Hong Kong’s tightening of the rules could “reduce people’s worries” over the integrity of the samples, as the city had no jurisdiction over medical practices in other parts of the world.

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Source：SCMP

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