The Government will gazette the specifications under the Prevention and Control of Disease (Regulation of Cross-boundary Conveyances and Travellers) Regulation (Cap. 599H) to restrict persons who have stayed in Brazil or Ireland from boarding flights for Hong Kong.
A Government spokesman said on January 19, "Cases caused by the new virus variant with high transmissibility were found in Brazil and Ireland recently. It is necessary for the Government to take stringent measures to restrict persons who have stayed in Brazil or Ireland from boarding flights for Hong Kong."
The Secretary for Food and Health has made the relevant specifications under the above Regulation, which will take effect from 0.00am on January 23, 2021. Under the relevant specifications, all persons who have stayed in Brazil or Ireland for more than two hours on the day of boarding or during the 21 days before that day will not be allowed to board for Hong Kong; persons arriving at Hong Kong who have stayed in Brazil or Ireland on the day of arrival at Hong Kong or during the 21 days before that day have to present before boarding a negative result proof of a nucleic acid test for COVID-19 conducted within 72 hours before the scheduled time of departure of the aircraft and confirmation of room reservation in a designated quarantine hotel, and (irrespective of arriving at Hong Kong via the airport or land boundary control points) have to undergo compulsory quarantine for 21 days in designated quarantine hotels.
Apart from the above specifications made for Brazil and Ireland, the current boarding and compulsory quarantine requirements for the other relevant places remain unchanged. For better understanding by the public on the boarding and compulsory quarantine requirements for persons arriving at Hong Kong from different places outside China under the above Regulation, the Government has categorised the relevant specified places into three groups according to the relevant risk-based boarding and compulsory quarantine requirements. The brief details are set out at Annex. Details can be found at www.coronavirus.gov.hk/eng/high-risk-places.html .
The spokesman said, "The Government will continue to monitor closely the situation, including the developments of the epidemic situation both globally and locally and changes in the volume of cross-boundary passenger traffic, and will tighten the compulsory quarantine requirements for persons arriving at Hong Kong from other high-risk places when necessary."
Follow this news feed: East Asia