HK to scrap hotel quarantine for arrivals from Monday

On Friday, Hong Kong announced that mandatory hotel quarantine will be scrapped for arrivals from Taiwan and overseas. Starting from 6 am on Sept 26, incoming visitors will only need to undergo three days of self-monitoring and observation from home or from the hotel they are staying in, the city's top leader announced on Friday.

Currently, new arrivals are required to stay in quarantine hotels for three days, followed by another four days of self-monitoring and observation.

Speaking at a government anti-pandemic press conference, Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu said the nucleic acid test that inbound visitors are required to take before boarding their flight will be replaced by a rapid antigen test.

In addition, unvaccinated Hong Kong residents who are currently overseas will be allowed to fly into Hong Kong, but they will be required to get vaccinated after returning to Hong Kong in order to get the Vaccine Pass.

Lee also said the Come2hk Scheme and the Return2hk Scheme will be expanded to all regions of the Chinese mainland and Macao with no quota cap.

Welcoming the initiatives, lawmaker and business leader Tan Yueheng said the moves will reduce the inconvenience of inbound passengers and help revive the local economy by facilitating the Hong Kong's connection with the international community.

Tan called on the SAR government to relax the quarantine arrangements and social distancing measures in an orderly manner, to ensure they are in line with the anti-pandemic work and social needs.

Meanwhile, Tan stressed the need to closely monitor the health condition of high-risk groups, such as the elderly and the very young, and increase channels to facilitate their vaccination.

The Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce noted that the declining daily new COVID cases showed a stabilizing trend of the pandemic. The group hopes the relaxation of curbs could help the battered catering, retail, convention and exhibition and other service industries to resume normal operations.

It added that Hong Kong has fallen down the global rankings as an aviation hub and financial center. More proactive measures need to be adopted to reconnect the city with the world.

Chow Pak-chin, a famous ophthalmologist and president of think tank Wisdom Hong Kong, cautioned of the risk to lift the vaccination requirement for overseas Hong Kong residents returning to the city, saying that the move is likely to increase transmission risk.

On the other hand, replacing the nucleic acid test with rapid antigen tests will also reduce the effectiveness of pandemic prevention to a certain extent, Chow said.