Hong Kong to end mandatory hotel quarantine for travelers

HONG KONG (AP) — Hong Kong’s leader introduced the metropolis would no extended have to have incoming tourists to quarantine in specified inns as it seeks to continue being competitive and open up globally following virtually two yrs.

Incoming vacationers will also no lengthier want a unfavorable PCR take a look at within just 48 several hours ahead of boarding a aircraft to Hong Kong, the city’s chief govt John Lee mentioned Friday at a news convention. In its place, they will will need to existing a unfavorable COVID-19 consequence from a swift antigen test performed inside 24 hours in advance of the flight.

The measures will occur into impact Monday.

“While we can’t command the craze of the epidemic, we will have to allow the optimum home to let connectivity with the entire world so that we can have financial momentum and to decrease inconvenience to arriving tourists,” explained Lee, who also explained that authorities will not roll back again the measures announced Friday.

He stated that there should be a “balance involving hazards and economic progress.”

From Monday, tourists into Hong Kong will have to undertake a few times of residence monitoring. If they exam unfavorable for COVID-19 following a few days, they will be authorized into venues such as dining establishments and bars. They ought to also bear quite a few obligatory PCR exams, including just one on arrival, as properly as on their next, fourth and sixth days in Hong Kong, coupled with daily antigen swift assessments each working day for their to start with 7 days.

Hong Kong’s easing of travel curbs sparked a hurry for flight bookings, with airline Cathay Pacific’s site “experiencing substantial traffic” just after the announcement was produced. Guests to the website experienced to wait around in a virtual queue to enter.

The city’s each day COVID-19 infections have fallen to underneath 6,000 cases a working day, from over 10,000 every day instances early this month. A large majority are local infections.

For virtually two years, Hong Kong needed overseas arrivals in the city to provide a period of mandatory quarantine in designated hotels. At a single position, the town experienced amid the world’s longest quarantine intervals at 21 times of mandatory isolation.

Neighboring Taiwan is predicted to do the exact same future thirty day period. This leaves mainland China as a single of the only destinations in the entire world that will nonetheless need vacationers to quarantine on arrival.

Hong Kong has for most of the pandemic aligned with China’s “zero-COVID” system.

In excess of the previous 2 1/2 years, Hong Kong authorities have imposed demanding social distancing actions and locked down residential buildings with verified COVID-19 infections to mass-check inhabitants.

As the rest of the globe reopened borders, companies urged Hong Kong authorities to occur up with an exit approach to the pandemic in purchase to remain aggressive amid a brain drain as tens of thousands of people left the metropolis.

Numerous companies also moved their workplaces to nations like Singapore as they sought reduction from the city’s restrictions.

Singapore experienced eased vacation curbs and peaceful coronavirus limitations months right before Hong Kong, sparking considerations that Hong Kong may perhaps shed out in competitiveness as an worldwide economical heart and regional business hub.

Lee said authorities will preserve checking the epidemic predicament in Hong Kong to determine if additional rest is possible, including he was “optimistic” that the loosening of specifications will be welcomed by those who wish to enter Hong Kong.

“If there are positive developments as we development … there will be additional space for us to do added measures so that we can have extra movement, additional functions and far more area for us to go about diverse (routines),” he reported.

The easing of measures will come as Hong Kong prepares to keep various higher-profile functions, which include the Rugby Sevens match in November and an global banking summit.

The Rugby Sevens is creating a comeback in the town for the to start with time due to the fact the pandemic commenced. In a information conference Friday, organizers reported that hazard mitigation measures will be taken for the match, which contains generating positive that all players and officials involved have at minimum two COVID-19 vaccinations.

Other actions taken consist of working in a “competition bubble,” which guarantees that competing groups will be sequestered on arrival, for the duration of the match and right until departure.

On arrival, teams will be transported immediately from the airport to designated resorts and will have devoted staff transport and coaching venues.

Organizers explained 10,000 Rugby Sevens tickets will go on sale to the community Sept. 28.

“The return of the Hong Kong Sevens indicates business enterprise is returning too. And I know we just cannot wait for both to fill the stands, and the streets and stores, dining establishments and with any luck , bars as well,” reported fiscal secretary Paul Chan at the Rugby Sevens information convention.

“The momentum will retain on making. And extended past. There will be no halting our quite a few prestigious international gatherings,” Chan stated.

The rest of vacation needs drew optimistic reactions from some inhabitants in the town.

“I feel (reopening) has to be action-by-phase, it is positive,” reported Samuel Tsang, a Hong Kong resident.

Nonetheless, there are others who believe that that 3 times of checking for arrivals is continue to an inconvenient evaluate.

“It’s too late. Every person else has opened up for this sort of a extensive time,” mentioned Eva Leung.

“The financial state has develop into like this, no one particular is coming,” she reported, incorporating that it really is even now a headache, specifically for business tourists who have to move all around the metropolis for function. “It is however not practical.”

___

AP news assistant Karmen Li contributed to this report.

Copyright 2022 The Related Press. All legal rights reserved. This product may possibly not be revealed, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.