Government further increases supply of designated quarantine hotels

     The Government said today (April 12) that it will further increase the supply of designated quarantine hotels (DQHs) so as to meet the demand of Hong Kong residents returning from overseas (including foreign domestic helpers (FDHs) who are Hong Kong residents or have been granted visa to come to Hong Kong) while guarding against the importation of COVID-19 cases at the same time.

     After assessing the supply and demand as well as the usage of community isolation facilities (CIFs), the Government decided to convert three hotels, namely Royal Pacific Hotel, The Kowloon Hotel and Cordis, Hong Kong, that have earlier been reserved as CIFs to DQHs to supplement around 2 000 rooms on top of the current supply. These DQHs will commence service from April 14 onwards and will gradually start to accept room bookings. 

     To make better use of the hotel rooms for quarantine purpose, starting from May 1, four hotels which are currently reserved for FDHs to undergo quarantine (Courtyard by Marriott Hong Kong Sha Tin, iclub Ma Tau Wai Hotel, O’Hotel and Rambler Garden Hotel) will also accept other Hong Kong residents returning from places other than the Mainland and Macao for undergoing quarantine apart from FDHs.  These hotels will provide about 1 600 rooms.  FDHs who have already made a reservation for these four hotels will not be affected.  Hong Kong residents returning from places other than the Mainland and Macao can reserve a room through online booking system of the hotels concerned starting from 10am on April 19.
 
     Together with the seven hotels mentioned above, starting from May 1, there will be 45 DQHs providing over 14 000 rooms in total for selection by Hong Kong residents returning from places other than the Mainland and Macao (including FDHs).
 
     A Government spokesman said that all DQHs had submitted their price information to the Government before joining the Scheme.  Furthermore, hotels are not allowed to adjust their prices during the Scheme period unless they have secured the Government’s prior approval.  As a matter of fact, DQHs under the current cycle, which ends at July 31, of the Scheme have not applied for any adjustment to their prices.
 
     The Government will update regularly the list of DQHs and their booking status on the thematic website www.designatedhotel.gov.hk.

     The Government fully implemented the DQH Scheme on December 22, 2020, requiring all arrivals from specified places to undergo compulsory quarantine at DQHs with a view to further preventing the importation of COVID-19 cases and reducing contact between arrivals and the local community. Under the Scheme, 44 DQHs were expected to provide service from March 1 to July 31 this year. Nevertheless, the Government converted some of them into CIFs earlier to tackle the fifth wave of the epidemic.