Hong Kong announced on Tuesday that the boarding, quarantine and testing requirements for persons arriving from overseas will be tightened from Friday. Let’s check the details!
Hong Kong decided to tighten health quarantine arrangements on inbound travelers from 16 countries to fend off the more infectious Delta coronavirus variant.
Effective from 12:00 a.m. on Friday (August 20), travelers from 15 countries, including the United States, France and Spain, will be required to be fully vaccinated and undergo a 21-day quarantine upon arrival, according to a statement of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government (HKSAR). Those countries will be upgraded from the medium-risk category to high risk.
Australia will be moved from low risk to medium risk so that non-vaccinated visitors from the country have to undergo quarantine for 21 days and those fully vaccinated will be quarantined for 14 days, or seven days with a positive antibody test.
The decision to tighten quarantine arrangements was to strengthen the local barrier against the importation of the virus in view of the recent surge of infections with the Delta variant overseas, the government spokesperson said.
Here’s the category of relevant overseas places and the relevant risk-based arrangements:
Persons who have stayed in Group A specified places on the day of boarding for/arrival at Hong Kong or during the 21 days before that day can only board flights for Hong Kong if they are Hong Kong residents (HKRs) who are fully vaccinated and hold a recognized vaccination record.
The boarding and quarantine requirements applicable to Group A specified places remain unchanged but the number of tests will be increased.
Details will be as follows:
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Undergo compulsory quarantine for 21 days in a designated quarantine hotel (DQH);
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Undergo six tests during compulsory quarantine;
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Self-monitor for the subsequent seven days; and
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Undergo compulsory testing in a CTC on the 26th day of arrival at Hong Kong.
For HKRs who have stayed in Group B specified places on the day of boarding for/arrival at Hong Kong or during the 14 days before that day (the relevant period), but have not stayed in Group A specified places, the relevant quarantine requirements will be as follows:
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Undergo compulsory quarantine for 21 days in a DQH; and
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Undergo six tests during compulsory quarantine.
Relevant non-HKRs who do not hold a recognized vaccination record are not allowed to board flights for Hong Kong.
As regards relevant HKRs and non-HKRs who are fully vaccinated and hold a recognized vaccination record, their quarantine period can be shortened upon arrival.
The relevant quarantine and testing requirements will be as follows:
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Undergo compulsory quarantine for 14 days in a DQH;
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Undergo four tests during compulsory quarantine;
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Self-monitor for the subsequent seven days; and
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Undergo compulsory testing on the 16th and 19th days of arrival at Hong Kong, where the test to be taken on the 19th day must be conducted in a CTC.
For HKRs and non-HKRs who have stayed in Group C specified places during the relevant period, but have not stayed in Group A or Group B specified places, the relevant quarantine requirements remain unchanged yet the compulsory testing requirements will be enhanced.
Details will be as follows:
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Undergo compulsory quarantine for 14 days in a DQH;
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Undergo four tests during compulsory quarantine;
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Self-monitor for the subsequent seven days; and
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Undergo compulsory testing on the 16th and 19th days of arrival at Hong Kong, where the test to be taken on the 19th day must be conducted in a CTC.
As regards relevant HKRs and non-HKRs who are fully vaccinated and hold a recognized vaccination record, their quarantine period can be shortened upon arrival.
Besides the requirement of recognized vaccination records and the enhanced testing requirements, the relevant quarantine requirements remain unchanged.
Details will be as follows:
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Undergo compulsory quarantine for seven days in a DQH;
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Undergo two tests during compulsory quarantine;
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Self-monitor for the subsequent seven days; and
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Undergo compulsory testing on the 9th, 12th, 16th and 19th days of arrival at Hong Kong, where the test to be taken on the 19th day must be conducted in a CTC.
We will keep following the updates on the latest pandemic prevention & control measures and entry-related policies. Stay tuned!
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SOURCE | HK Gov / 广州外国人服务
