A passenger wearing a face mask and protective suit talks on his phone in the arrivals hall at Hong Kong International Airport on April 4, 2020 amid concerns of the COVID-19 coronavirus. (DALE DE LA REY / AFP)
HONG KONG – The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) government announced on Thursday that the quarantine requirements for people arriving from Britain will be tightened from Monday.
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Visitors will be subject to compulsory quarantine at designated hotels for 21 days after Hong Kong raised the risk level for UK arrivals to “very high,” from “high.” The measure will be implemented from June 28, according to a press release issued by the government.
Travelers from Britain boarding for Hong Kong have to present at boarding negative result proof of a nucleic acid test for COVID-19 conducted within 72 hours before the scheduled time of departure of the aircraft, as well as the confirmation of a room reservation in a designated quarantine hotel in Hong Kong.
On confirmation of negative test results at the Hong Kong International Airport, they will then be required to board the designated transport to proceed to the designated quarantine hotels for a 21-day compulsory quarantine, during which four tests will be conducted, followed by a seven-day self-monitoring period as well as compulsory testing on the 26th day of arrival, the HKSAR government said.
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The decision was made in view of the recent rebound of the epidemic situation in Britain and the widespread of Delta variant virus strain there, coupled with a number of cases with L452R mutant virus strains detected by tests from people arriving from Britain upon arrival or during quarantine in Hong Kong, according to a press release by the HKSAR government.
With inputs from Agencies
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