Hong Kong Reopens Its Borders: Here Are The Rules

Hong Kong was one of the first territories to close its border in response to COVID-19, taking strict measures to control the pandemic. However, after nearly 18 months with tough rules, the city is looking to reopen to the rest of the world and allow international travel. To this end, Hong Kong has reopened its border to travelers from scores of countries with some conditions. Here’s a look at the rules.

The reopening is good news for Cathay Pacific, which has seen traffic fall almost 99% during the pandemic. Photo: Vincenzo Pace | Simple Flying

Three lists

While Hong Kong is eager to reopen its borders, it’s also cognizant of the threat of COVID-19. After weeks of no local transmission (and only 12,000 cases in total), the government still has quarantine and testing rules for all arrivals into the city. However, these are much less strict for those vaccinated and coming from low or medium-risk countries. The new rules came into effect last week.

There are three lists used by the HK government to classify countries: high, medium, and low risk. Currently, only New Zealand qualifies as a ‘low-risk country, with Australia being bumped off yesterday. The medium-risk list includes all countries minus the 25 that are currently classed as high risk, China, and Taiwan.

The new rules are a huge boost for Cathay and other Hong Kong carriers, but yesterday’s update has dampened expectations. Photo: Getty Images

While the high-risk list originally only had 10 badly hit or virus variant countries, such as Brazil, South Africa, India, the UK, and others, it was expanded on August 16th. Now, the US, UAE, France, Spain, and several others have been added to the list. Only Hong Kong residents can return from these countries and follow tough quarantines. This will hurt airline recovery since the biggest markets are now off the cards for carriers. However, there remain several major countries that are still on the list.

Rules

If you find yourself in a medium-risk country for the last 14 days, Hong Kong is back on the map! The rules are a bit complex, so stay with us. Fully vaccinated visitors (including tourists) and Hong Kong residents can arrive in the city if they meet strict conditions.

First, all arrivals must have a valid vaccination record to prove their status and negative test taken 72 hours before arrival. This will allow passengers to undertake a 14-day quarantine (down from 21 days) in a government-approved hotel. However, if the passengers bring a vaccine record and an antibody test with a positive serology report, this quarantine is decreased to just seven days.

Passengers must take an antibody and COVID test to land with a seven-day quarantine. Photo: Vincenzo Pace | Simple Flying

After the seven-day quarantine (which includes two tests), travelers are free to roam Hong Kong. However, they must take further tests on Days 9, 12, 16, and 19, depending on the length of stay. Unvaccinated non-residents are still barred from entering Hong Kong and residents must quarantine for 21 days.

Tough but understandable

Overall, flying to Hong Kong is not easy. Between five COVID tests and a blood test of antibodies, travel is nowhere as convenient as before. However, the lack of cases in Hong Kong means life is different from nearly all other countries and might be worth the inconvenience for some.

What do you think about Hong Kong’s COVID rules? Let us know in the comments!

from Simple Flying https://ift.tt/3m8ipwh
via IFTTT