HK gov’t mulls cutting Covid-19 quarantine for inbound travelers to as few as 3 days in Aug

Hong Kong aims to scrap hotel quarantine in November, according to a Bloomberg report. Photo: Hong Kong’s Information Services Department
Hong Kong aims to scrap hotel quarantine in November, according to a Bloomberg report. Photo: Hong Kong’s Information Services Department

The Hong Kong government is considering cutting Covid-19 quarantine for inbound travelers to as few as three days, according to a Commercial Radio report. 

Quoting unnamed sources, the radio station said on Tuesday that officials are studying reducing the mandatory quarantine in designated hotels from the current seven days to three to five days. 

It added that the government is still studying the specifics of the plan but hopes to finalize it next month. 

Meanwhile, HK01 quoted sources as saying that the government’s plan is to reduce hotel quarantine for inbound travelers to five days with two days of home quarantine, or four days of hotel quarantine and three days of home quarantine. 

The online portal also said it understood that the government is considering introducing a traffic light-style health code that is akin to that of the mainland as soon as next month.

Officials previously said such a system is needed to ensure infected individuals are barred from entering high-risk venues, but critics have raised surveillance and privacy concerns. 

Under the system, individuals who receive a positive PCR test result will get a red code, meaning they cannot go into high-risk venues, including restaurants, hospitals and care homes. 

Those with an amber code will be for those inbound travelers during their home quarantine period. They will not be permitted from entering high-risk areas with an amber code as they also carry the risk of becoming infected with the virus.




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