27 May 2021 | 05:22 AM UTC
China: Authorities extend local COVID-19 restrictions through June 9; quarantine required for some returnees from mainland China /update 62
Officials in Hong Kong, China, extend COVID-19 gathering, business controls through June 9. Quarantine rules changed for some returnees.
Event
Hong Kong officials have extended most COVID-19 restrictions through at least June 9. Public gatherings remain limited to four people. The government permits seated entertainment venues to operate at 75-percent capacity and religious services at 30-percent capacity. Residents must wear facemasks in all public areas and on public transport.
The government permits almost all nonessential businesses to operate. Restaurants must close dine-in services at 22:00 and confirm that patrons check-in using the Leave Home Safe mobile application or manually collect contact information. As part of a "vaccine bubble," authorities allow restaurants to operate until 23:59 and serve groups of up to six people if all staff and customers have received at least one COVID-19 vaccination dose and customers use the Leave Home Safe mobile application. Restaurants can extend operating hours to 02:00 and allow groups of up to eight people 14 days after staff members receive their second COVID-19 vaccine dose. Nightclubs, karaoke rooms, and pubs can reopen provided all staff and customers received at least one vaccine dose. These businesses can operate at 50-percent capacity until 02:00 but must limit seating to two people per table.
Authorities continue to conduct mandatory testing for high-risk groups, including people who work or live at locations with reported outbreaks or employees in specific occupations. Officials also require residents that may have been exposed to COVID-19 to get tested. People who do not take required tests are subject to a fine of HKD 2,000 (USD 258); officials could impose a fine of up to HKD 25,000 (USD 3,221) or prison sentences of up to six months for individuals who repeatedly fail to get tested. The government intends to continue focused, short-duration lockdown orders in neighborhoods where officials suspect COVID-19 is spreading. Authorities usually select specific buildings within an area and prevent residents from leaving until testing is complete. Shutdowns can occur without notice and typically take place overnight.
Travel Restrictions
The government continues to ban all nonresident foreign nationals from entering the territory. Travelers from Macau, Taiwan, and mainland China can enter Hong Kong, provided they have not visited elsewhere in the past 21 days. Arrivals from mainland China and Macau must quarantine for 14 days at hotels. However, a limited number of daily passengers from these locations can avoid quarantine by making a reservation online, obtaining a negative COVID-19 test result within 72 hours of arrival, and entering via Shenzhen Bay or Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge border checkpoints or Hong Kong International Airport (HKG). All other border checkpoints remain closed. Effective May 24, returning Hong Kong residents with a travel history in the past 14 days to medium- and high-risk areas of mainland China must also undergo a 14-day quarantine; such locations are updated frequently by the National Health Commission. Returnees from other regions in mainland China and Macau can avail exemptions from quarantine.
Officials have barred flights from and entry for people who have stayed in designated extremely high-risk countries Brazil, India, Nepal, Pakistan, the Philippines, and South Africa for more than two hours within 21 days of departure. Hong Kong classifies Ireland and the UK as very high-risk locations and Argentina, Bangladesh, Belgium, Canada, Ecuador, Egypt, Ethiopia, France, Germany, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Malaysia, the Netherlands, Romania, Russia, Singapore, Switzerland, Turkey, Ukraine, the UAE, and the US as high-risk areas. Returning residents from these locations and permitted travelers from extremely high-risk locations must provide evidence of a negative result from a COVID-19 test taken within 72 hours before departure. The same measures are in place for travelers from Taiwan.
Officials require most arrivals to quarantine at a hotel for 21 days. All passengers must present a hotel reservation for the entire period before boarding flights. All entrants must undergo COVID-19 testing upon arrival in Hong Kong and during the quarantine period. Officials allow travelers from low-risk countries, Australia and New Zealand, to quarantine for 14 days, but they must self-monitor their health for an additional seven days and undergo COVID-19 testing on days 16 and 19 after arrival. Travelers from Ireland and the UK must self-monitor their health for an extra week and take another COVID-19 test on day 26 after arrival.
Authorities have reduced quarantine times for fully vaccinated inbound passengers from low-risk countries to seven days and 14 days from high- and medium-risk locations. Vaccinated arrivals must follow self-monitoring protocols for a week after quarantine ends and undergo COVID-19 testing on specified days. Officials will isolate and treat symptomatic passengers or people testing positive for COVID-19 at government-designated facilities.
Hong Kong is maintaining quarantine measures for crews of aircraft and maritime vessels indefinitely. Under these requirements, ships without cargo cannot exchange crews. On other ships, workers are no longer allowed to enter the territory and must travel directly to the airport after disembarking. Inbound ship crews and flight crew members must obtain a negative COVID-19 test result within 48 hours of departure for Hong Kong. Both airlines and shipping companies must arrange point-to-point transport for employees to limit interaction with the public.
Officials allow some transit flights at Hong Kong International Airport (HKG) if grouped in a single booking and the connection time is shorter than 24 hours. Airport Authority Hong Kong is permitting flights originating from mainland China, but transit flights to mainland China remain banned. Airlines have significantly reduced flights due to decreased demand, and additional cancellations are likely.
Advice
Follow all official instructions. Abide by local health and safety measures. Reconfirm all travel arrangements. Consider delaying traveling if experiencing symptoms associated with COVID-19, as they may prompt increased scrutiny and delays. Liaise with trusted contacts for further updates and guidance. Maintain contact with your diplomatic representation. Ensure contingency plans account for further disruptive measures or extensions of current restrictions. Reconsider and reconfirm nonemergency health appointments.
