Hong Kong May Scrap Hotel Quarantine And Pre-Arrival Tests For International Travellers

According to a Bloomberg report, Hong Kong is planning to eliminate the hotel quarantine and pre-flight Covid PCR test requirements for incoming travellers.

An announcement ending hotel quarantines, which were reduced to three days from seven just weeks ago, could come as soon as this week.

However, new arrivals may be asked to do rapid antigen tests rather than bring a copy of a negative PCR lab result obtained within the previous 48 hours, removing another barrier that made travel inconvenient.

The date for removing the hotel quarantine will have an impact on existing operations in the airline and hotel industries and has not yet been determined. Travellers will instead be subjected to self-monitoring for seven days, a local newspaper, citing unidentified sources.

The changes could occur before a slew of major international events designed to herald Hong Kong’s revival begin in late October.

The removal of the travel restrictions that had isolated the city for the past two and a half years and had kept Covid-19 largely at bay until a sweeping outbreak this spring was seen as a prerequisite for many of the visitor’s Hong Kong hoped to welcome.

Covid-19 Guidelines In Hong Kong

Hong Kong will keep some strict Covid measures in place as it deals with thousands of new infections every day.

People are required to wear masks almost all of the time, health codes are checked when dining out, and school students must perform daily rapid antigen tests.

Public gatherings are still restricted, as is the number of people who can sit together in a restaurant. Guest of the bar and banquet must have a negative Covid test within the previous 24 hours in order to enter.

Disagreement over Hong Kong’s rules has revealed deep divisions among the city’s elite over how to handle the pandemic. The debate heated up on Friday after the former CEO of the Hospital Authority criticised the city’s reopening process.