Hong Kong Travel Hotel Quarantine – Passengers arriving at Hong Kong International Airport line up for buses to quarantine hotels on Friday. Lam Yik/AP
HONG KONG – Hong Kong announced on Friday that it has lifted mandatory hotel quarantine for incoming foreigners, ending one of the world’s strictest Covid-19 policies as Asia does as elsewhere in the world in the evolution of the coronavirus.
Hong Kong Travel Hotel Quarantine
Since November 2020, China’s regional and international financial institutions have required all foreign nationals to stay in a designated hotel for a maximum of 21 days, among which traveler’s rate. Travelers to Hong Kong – which is home to many Americans and other foreigners – often complain about the poor conditions in hotels, as well as the high prices that the hotels are organized themselves.
Hong Kong Airport Traffic Surges After Hotel Quarantine Scrapped
Starting Monday, international travelers to Hong Kong will also have to take the P.C.R. check upon arrival at the airport, but they don’t have to wait for the result. Their movement around the city will be restricted for the first three days after arrival, with access to shops and restaurants restricted until they pass the second test.
Hong Kong’s announcement came a day after Japan and Taiwan also eased long-standing border restrictions. On Thursday, Japan said it will welcome all tourists freely starting from October 11, reintroducing visa-free travel and capping all visitors.
Taiwan, which currently requires a three-day home quarantine for incoming foreigners, said Thursday it plans to end the quarantine on Oct. 13, depending on how many people arrive. patient next week.
Countries such as Australia, New Zealand and Singapore that closed their borders at the beginning of the global epidemic have fully opened to visitors from outside and have lifted many restrictions.
Hong Kong Finally Ends Mandatory Hotel Quarantine For Overseas Arrivals
The biggest is still mainland China, the only major economy that has stuck with the “zero-Covid” strategy of closing borders, isolating confirmed patients, mass testing and closing . International travelers arriving in mainland China must spend at least 10 days in some form of quarantine.
This week, at least 27 people in Guizhou province were killed in a bus accident on the way to the quarantine center, sparking outrage online.
Chinese President Xi Jinping, who has shared his confidence in the achievement of “zero-Covid,” is unlikely to change course before the main meeting of the Communist Party next month Next he wants to secure an unprecedented third time in office.
Chinese officials say their Covid policies have saved lives, pointing to high death tolls in the United States and other countries, but they have also slowed the economy and scared off investors. abroad to reflect on their time in the country.
Hong Kong Bids Farewell To Hotel Quarantine
“Ideology is affecting business,” the European Union Chamber of Commerce in China said in an annual report released on Wednesday.
Hong Kong, a former British colony that was returned to Chinese rule in 1997 under the principle of “one country, two systems,” has been destroyed throughout the the spread of two important conflicts: reopening its border with mainland China versus reopening to others. world. The country’s leaders announced this week that they have no objection to Hong Kong relaxing its Covid laws.
After staying virtually Covid-free for the first two years of the epidemic as it was under Beijing’s leadership, Hong Kong experienced a major outbreak last spring that was driven by a very efficient omicron transmission. More than 7,500 people, most of them older and unvaccinated, died in less than two months, with pictures of sick people walking out into hospital parking lots. for the sake of the world.
The hotel quarantine policy, originally designed to protect the city from the spread of the virus “infectious” from abroad, has been increasingly criticized because the sick in the community are too far away from immigrants who have tested positive for the disease.
Hong Kong’s Hotel Quarantine Makes Tourism Face Hurdle Under China Demand
The city of 7 million has reported an average of about 6,700 people per day in the past week, less than 200 of them from foreign arrivals.
Announcing the easing of restrictions on Friday, Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee emphasized the need to continue to reduce the number of serious illnesses and deaths.
The city is also removing the requirement that travelers get a P.C.R. test within 48 hours after they leave for Hong Kong, replace it with the vaccine immediately 24 hours before.
Although the announcement on Friday caused an uproar in Hong Kong, experts warned that it will take time for the city to recover from the damage of years of isolation. . These restrictions have encouraged an exodus of local and foreign residents to competing financial centers like Singapore, which jumped one place ahead of Hong Kong to No. 3 of the World Financial Index was released on Thursday.
The Best Quarantine Hotels In Hong Kong
Travel in and out of Hong Kong will continue to be affected by the flight ban, which airlines have decided to implement in response to quarantine measures for crew and other passengers. limited. Willie Walsh, head of the International Air Transport Association, said this week that Hong Kong has lost its chance to become an international airport because of its Covid policy. HONG KONG, September 23 () – Hong Kong will get rid of its COVID problem. -19 hotel management policies for everyone arrived from September 26, more than 2.5 years after it was first implemented, in the long-awaited way for many residents and businesses in the financial center.
All international travelers can return home or go to the destination of their choice but must self-quarantine for three days after entering the Chinese special control center, the government said on Friday.
“We are focusing on a practice of allowing people to come more easily and they are allowed to go about their activities with the greatest ability,” Director John Lee said. told the meeting.
People will be allowed to go to work or school but will not be allowed to enter shops or restaurants for three days. The pre-flight PCR test that is required for travelers to Hong Kong 48 hours before the flight will be replaced by the Rapid Antigen Test.
Hong Kong Ending Mandatory Covid 19 Hotel Quarantine On Sep 26
The former UK is the world leader outside China in building isolation hotels for international tourists, following the country’s “likely zero” COVID strategy.
Business groups, diplomats and many residents have blasted the city’s COVID-19 policies, saying they threaten Hong Kong’s competitiveness and standing as a global financial center.
All international visitors now spend three days in a self-catering hotel followed by four days of self-care where they are allowed to move around the city. The hotel quarantine was as much as three weeks before it was gradually reduced earlier this year.
The regulations have weighed on Hong Kong’s economy since early 2020 and led to an exodus of both foreigners and local families that has been triggered by Beijing’s efforts to control and limit freedom. persistent. Some 113,000 people have left since mid-2021, according to government data.
Hotels In Lantau Island
Scores of flights have stopped running to and from Hong Kong, which used to be one of the world’s busiest and most efficient airports.
The city has lost its position as an international airport because of China’s zero-COVID policy, the head of the airline group IATA said this week. read more
Travelers can take buses to quarantine hotels at Hong Kong International Airport, amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, in Hong Kong, China, Aug. May 1, 2022. / Tyrone Siu
Hong Kong also limits the population of more than four people and masks are mandatory for everyone, including two-year-old children, who must wear them during school hours.
Hong Kong Eases Travel Rules In Apparent Shift From Zero Covid Policy
Scores of events have been canceled or postponed from 2020, although Hong Kong is preparing to host a major financial conference and the international Rugby Sevens in November. The bankers said that the travel is not classified as a prerequisite for attending the meeting.
The two events are widely seen as a bid to show that Hong Kong can resume business as usual.
Lee’s comments came as the head of the city’s Rugby Union announced on Friday that fans of the seven-year-old can drink but eat food is still under discussion with the government.
Officials and media must wear protective equipment while spectators must wear masks unless drinking and check their immunity before entering the stadium, according to as director Robbie McRobbie.
He Moved To Hong Kong In 2020. The ‘zero Covid’ Strategy Pushed Him To Move Again
“We don’t believe these are significant issues for enjoying a day out at the Sevens,” said manager McRobbie, who said the stadium would have about 30,000 fans at 85% capacity. able under current government regulations.
A group with five or more people who test positive for the coronavirus will be withdrawn from the competition, McRobbie said.
Financial institutions Singapore held a major meeting this month that saw the hotel and restaurant industry boom, while Taiwan and Japan announced this week a reduction in the number of COVID-19 cases. -19 restrictions on international travelers came into effect in October.
Directed by Farah Master, Twinnie Siu, Scott Murdoch and Anne Marie Roantree; Edited by Raissa Kasolowsky and Ana Nicolaci da CostaPlease update your web browser You are using a browser that we do not support. To get the best experience use
