Government rationalises testing arrangements for persons arriving from Mainland and Macao

     The Government announced today (September 1) that the COVID-19 nucleic acid testing arrangements for persons arriving from the Mainland and Macao will be rationalised from September 3 onwards. The new arrangements include that persons arriving at Hong Kong from the Mainland or Macao via the airport will no longer be required to undergo "test-and-hold" arrangement in a bid to align the testing arrangements for relevant persons arriving at Hong Kong via the airport and land boundary control points, while all persons arriving from the Mainland and Macao must undergo compulsory nucleic acid testing on Day 2 upon their arrival at Hong Kong.
 
     In view of the control and management measures implemented in at-risk areas in the Mainland and Macao, persons arriving at Hong Kong from the Mainland and Macao pose very low infection risks to Hong Kong. Moreover, no imported case from the Mainland or Macao was detected in recent months. At the same time, considering the shorter incubation period of the Omicron virus variants, the Government will amend the testing requirements for persons arriving at Hong Kong from the Mainland and Macao with an aim to deploy Hong Kong's nucleic acid testing resources in a more targeted and efficient manner. The existing requirement of undergoing compulsory nucleic acid tests on Day 4 and Day 6 after arrival at Hong Kong will be revised to undergoing compulsory nucleic acid testing on Day 2 upon arrival at Hong Kong. This new arrangement aligns with that for persons arriving at Hong Kong from overseas places or Taiwan who are required to undergo nucleic acid test in designated quarantine hotels on Day 2 upon arrival at Hong Kong. This arrangement is applicable to persons who have to undergo compulsory quarantine at home, as well as those arriving at Hong Kong under the Return2hk or Come2hk schemes.
 
     Additionally, the Government will also lift the current "test-and-hold" arrangement for persons arriving at Hong Kong from the Mainland or Macao at the airport, so as to align with the arrival testing arrangements for persons arriving at Hong Kong from the Mainland or Macao via the airport or land boundary control points.
 
     The two abovementioned measures will be effective from September 3. As a transitional arrangement, for relevant persons who have already arrived at Hong Kong and underwent one compulsory nucleic acid test before September 3, they would not need to take a second nucleic acid test as required under the original compulsory testing arrangement. Meanwhile, the Government will also further refine the relevant arrival processes at the airport in an orderly manner in the light of the lifting of the "test-and-hold" arrangement at the airport for persons arriving from the Mainland and Macao.