Hong Kong Ditches Strict Covid Quarantine For Travelers After More Than Two Years

Topline

Hong Kong will ditch its strict lodge quarantine coverage for worldwide vacationers, the federal government introduced on Friday, marking the tip of one of many world’s hardest pandemic containment regimes as the town distances itself from the stringent “zero Covid” insurance policies of mainland China and makes an attempt to revive its standing as a world monetary hub.

Hong Kong is ending obligatory lodge quarantine for arrivals.

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Key Information

Vacationers arriving in Hong Kong will not be required to quarantine in a lodge from Monday, the town’s chief govt John Lee said on Friday.

Guidelines requiring vacationers to indicate a destructive PCR Covid take a look at earlier than boarding a flight to the town may even be eased, Lee stated, although folks will nonetheless want to indicate a destructive fast take a look at earlier than departing.

Vacationers may even must take a PCR take a look at upon their arrival and shall be required to self-monitor for an infection for 3 days.

Vacationers will proceed to be topic to testing, monitoring and restrictions throughout these three days, Lee stated, and shall be prohibited from getting into bars and eating places.

Below present insurance policies, all worldwide arrivals to Hong Kong must spend three days in lodge quarantine—which they pay for—adopted by 4 days of self-monitoring.

Key Background

The choice to finish lodge quarantine for arrivals has been hotly anticipated in Hong Kong and follows concerted lobbying efforts from native and worldwide enterprise. Hong Kong’s guidelines, which aligned with mainland China’s strict “zero Covid” guidelines and at one level required folks to spend as a lot as three weeks in self-funded lodge quarantine, have been a few of the world’s strictest pandemic management measures. They’ve confirmed controversial and remained in place lengthy after many nations scrapped restrictions solely, prompting a mass exodus of individuals and enterprise. Many warned the restrictions, notably the strict border controls, hindered the town’s financial restoration and threatened its standing as a world monetary middle.