22 Jun 2021 | 03:46 AM UTC
China: Authorities to ease COVID-19 controls from June 24, reduce quarantine for fully vaccinated residents from June 30 /update 64
Officials to ease COVID-19 measures in Hong Kong, China, from June 24. Quarantine period reduced for fully vaccinated residents from June 30
Event
Hong Kong officials will ease some restrictions from June 24 amid reduced COVID-19 activity. Authorities will increase capacity at private events, including weddings, religious ceremonies, and shareholder meetings, to 50 percent; officials will permit events to occur at full capacity if at least two-thirds of attendees have received at least one COVID-19 vaccine dose. The government permits seated entertainment venues to operate at 75-percent capacity. However, public gatherings remain limited to four people. Residents must wear facemasks in all public areas, including 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 less stringent capacity limits depending on staff and patron vaccination status. Restaurants can 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. Officials will increase overall capacity to 75 percent at these establishments from June 24. Restaurants with fully vaccinated staff members can extend operating hours to 02:00; officials will permit these establishments to operate a 100-percent capacity and increase group size to 12 people provided two-thirds of customers have received one vaccine dose. Nightclubs, karaoke rooms, and pubs can reopen at 50-percent capacity until 02:00 if all staff and customers received at least one vaccine dose but must limit seating to two people per table. Officials will ease capacity and operating hours at bars and pubs, nightclubs, and other entertainment venues with fully vaccinated staff.
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; officials could impose a fine of up to HKD 25,000 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
Hong Kong continues to ban most nonresident foreign nationals from entering the territory. Exceptions are possible for vaccinated senior executives of select publicly listed or registered financial services companies if they meet specific criteria. Such travelers must undergo COVID-19 testing and adhere to approved itineraries. 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). The program is only available for travelers who have not visited high- or medium-risk locations in mainland China within 14 days of arrival. Participants in the scheme must also get tested on days three, five, and 12 after entry. All other border checkpoints remain closed.
Officials have barred flights from and entry for people who have stayed in the designated extremely high-risk countries of Brazil, India, Nepal, Pakistan, the Philippines, and South Africa for more than two hours within 21 days of departure. Hong Kong classifies Indonesia and Ireland as very high-risk locations and Argentina, Bangladesh, Belgium, Cambodia, Canada, Colombia, Ecuador, Egypt, Ethiopia, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Malaysia, the Netherlands, Romania, Russia, Singapore, South Korea, Switzerland, Thailand, Turkey, Ukraine, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom, the United States of America, and Vietnam 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; however, 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 Indonesia and Ireland 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. Hong Kong will reduce quarantine time to seven days for all residents arriving from high- and medium-risk places starting June 30. Residents must provide their vaccination record and proof of a positive antibody test taken within three months. Returning travelers must also undergo a COVID-19 test upon arrival and two tests during the quarantine period. All vaccinated arrivals must follow self-monitoring protocols for a week after quarantine ends and undergo additional COVID-19 testing on specified days. Officials will isolate and treat symptomatic passengers or people testing positive for COVID-19 at government-designated facilities. The government plans to allow fully vaccinated nonresidents to enter the territory from late July. However, the option will not apply to people who visited extremely high-risk or very high-risk locations.
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. 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.
