HONG KONG – Hong Kong reported no new COVID-19 cases on Monday, the first time since June 17, as the city tightened quarantine rules for travelers from Russia.
According to the Centre for Health Protection, the city’s tally of confirmed cases remained at 11,951, with 212 related deaths.
The Hong Kong government said that starting from Friday, inbound travelers from Russia have to undergo 21 days of hotel quarantine and get tested five times, with the last test on the 26th day after their arrival
There were 44 confirmed patients being treated as of Monday in 11 public hospitals and the North Lantau Hospital Hong Kong Infection Control Centre, including one patient in serious condition, the Hospital Authority said.
Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor said she has submitted a report to the central government on the resumption of cross-boundary travel between the city, the Macao SAR and the Chinese mainland, after the city’s pandemic situation stabilized.
Speaking on a radio program on Monday, Lam said that that should it resume, business travelers would be given priority in quota bookings in the early stage.
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She also said that there was no mandatory requirement for the city to reach a certain number of days with no new local infections before cross-boundary travel can resume.
Also on Monday, the Hong Kong government announced that inbound travelers from Russia have to undergo 21 days of hotel quarantine and get tested five times, with the last test on the 26th day after their arrival.
The tightened rules, effective Friday, were issued after “the recent rebound of the epidemic situation in Russia and a number of cases with L452R mutant virus strains detected by tests from arrivals who have stayed in Russia”, the government said in a statement.
As of Sunday, 1,804,848 Hong Kong residents had been fully vaccinated, accounting for 26.5 percent of residents eligible for inoculation. Nearly 2.6 million residents have received at least one shot.
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