China: Authorities shorten quarantine requirements for inbound travelers from Feb. 5 and extend COVID-19 domestic curbs through Feb. 17 /update 87

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Authorities in Hong Kong will extend ongoing domestic curbs through Feb. 17 due to COVID-19 activity. Additionally, from Feb. 5, inbound travelers that are currently subject to 21 days of hotel quarantine may undergo a shorter 14 day isolation period, followed by seven days of self-monitoring protocols. Passengers arriving in Hong Kong before Feb. 5 who test negative for COVID-19 after completing 14 days of hotel quarantine may leave isolation. Travelers will need to undergo six COVID-19 tests during quarantine and on days 16 and 19 during the self-monitoring period.

Officials have also extended a ban on flights from Australia, Canada, France, India, Pakistan, the Philippines, the US, and the UK through Feb. 18. Further extensions or tightening of controls is possible depending on COVID-19 activity.

Domestic Measures
Officials require entrants to most dining, entertainment, and fitness facilities to use the Leave Home Safe mobile application; alternative forms are available for exempted groups, such as those above 65 years old, 15 years old or below with no accompanying adult, and the disabled. Authorities are implementing a "vaccine pass," requiring people visiting high-risk venues to have at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. Hong Kong will also close recreational venues like nightclubs, pubs, fitness centers, and museums and require restaurants to end dine-in services from 18:00 Jan. 7-20. Public gatherings remain limited to four people. Private events can occur at 50 percent of the venue's capacity; officials permit events at full capacity if at least two-thirds of attendees have received at least one COVID-19 vaccine dose. The government allows seated entertainment venues to operate at 85-percent capacity, with groups of up to six people. Cruise journeys are suspended. Officials encourage workplaces to implement telecommuting arrangements, if possible. Residents must wear facemasks in all public areas, including on public transport.

Authorities continue to conduct mandatory testing for high-risk groups, including people who work or live at locations with reported outbreaks and 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 penalty of up to HKD 25,000 or prison sentences of up to six months for individuals who repeatedly fail to get tested. The government continues to order focused, short-duration lockdown orders in neighborhoods where officials suspect COVID-19 is spreading. Authorities usually select specific buildings within an area and require residents to remain at home until testing is complete. Shutdowns can occur without notice but typically take place overnight.

International Travel Restrictions
Authorities permit entry for travelers from Macau, Taiwan, and mainland China, provided they have not visited elsewhere in the past 14 days. Fully vaccinated arrivals from mainland China and Macau must quarantine for seven days at a hotel or home accommodation and take two COVID-19 tests, followed by a week of self-monitoring and additional COVID-19 testing on specified days. A limited number of Hong Kong residents who have only visited low-risk areas in mainland China and Macau can forgo quarantine by making a reservation online and entering via Shenzhen Bay checkpoint or Hong Kong International Airport (HKG). Officials have also expanded the program to nonresidents who have been in Guangdong Province or Macau for the previous 14 days. Participants in the scheme must get six COVID-19 tests on specified days. However, authorities have indefinitely suspended the program for travelers entering through the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge checkpoint. All other border checkpoints remain closed. Vaccinated senior executives of selected publicly listed or registered financial services companies can enter if they meet specific criteria. Such travelers must undergo COVID-19 testing and adhere to approved itineraries. A ban on flights from Australia, Canada, France, India, Pakistan, the Philippines, the US, and the UK is in effect through Feb. 18.

The government classifies dozens of countries, including Australia, Canada, France, Germany, India, Japan, Pakistan, the Philippines, Russia, Singapore, South Korea, Thailand, the UAE, and the UK, as high risk. Only fully vaccinated Hong Kong residents may enter from these locations. Travelers who have been to any of the high-risk locations within the last 21 days cannot transit through Hong Kong Jan. 16-Feb. 15. Permitted entrants must carry proof of vaccination and pre-departure testing. Arrivals must quarantine for 21 days and take six tests. Individuals must also follow self-monitoring protocols for a week after quarantine ends and undergo additional COVID-19 testing on specified days.

Arrivals with a recent travel history to high-risk countries requiring enhanced measures must quarantine at the Penny's Bay Quarantine Center for four days and complete the remaining days of their 21-day quarantine at a pre-booked designated hotel. Travelers must show proof of a reservation at a designated quarantine hotel for at least 17 nights from the fifth day of arrival. Impacted locations include Angola, Botswana, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Kazakhstan, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, South Africa, UK, the US, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. COVID-19 testing is mandatory on arrival, daily for the first seven days, and on days 9, 11, 13, 15, 17, and 19. Travelers must also self-monitor their health for an additional week after quarantine and take another COVID-19 test on day 26 of arrival. Further amendments to restrictions and the list of high-risk countries may occur on short notice in the coming weeks as new cases of the Omicron COVID-19 variant emerge in other locations.

Authorities classify all other places as medium-risk; as of Jan. 28, no country is considered low-risk. Officials permit Hong Kong residents and fully vaccinated nonresidents from medium-risk countries to enter the territory. Residents who are not fully vaccinated must quarantine for 21 days and take six COVID-19 tests. Vaccinated arrivals from medium-risk locations and unvaccinated travelers from low-risk areas must quarantine for 14 days and take four tests during the quarantine period. Fully vaccinated arrivals from low-risk countries must quarantine for seven days and take two COVID-19 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. A detailed list of location risk levels and quarantine and testing requirements is available by clicking here.

All arriving passengers must provide a negative PCR COVID-19 test result from a sample taken 48 hours or less before arrival; authorities calculate the sample time and date from the time zone of the inbound flight for connecting passengers. Passengers from mainland China and Macau must present a negative COVID-19 PCR test taken within three days before arrival. Travelers from mainland China must have testing conducted at laboratories mutually agreed upon by Guangdong Province and Hong Kong officials or approved by China's National Health Commission. All other entrants arriving at HKG must also provide documentation that the testing organization is ISO 15189 accredited or recognized by the government where the test occurred and a reservation at a designated quarantine hotel before boarding flights. Test results and other documentation must be in either Chinese or English. Arrivals must undergo on-arrival COVID-19 testing and remain in designated locations at HKG until receiving a negative result before continuing onto hotel quarantine.

Quarantine exemptions are available for limited groups such as officials on government duty, drivers of goods vehicles and coaches, and on-duty crew members of aircraft, goods vessels, and vessels that require shipping services. All exempted entrants will be subject to strengthened monitoring measures during self-isolation; most government officials will have to quarantine at designated facilities instead of their residences.

Air and maritime crews must self-isolate in their accommodations between shifts and may have to undergo additional routine testing. Airlines and shipping companies must arrange point-to-point transport for employees to limit interaction with the public. Under these requirements, ships without cargo cannot exchange crews. Workers cannot enter the territory on other ships and must travel directly to the airport after disembarking. Inbound ship and flight crew members must obtain a negative COVID-19 test result within 48 hours before departure for Hong Kong.

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.

Resources

Hong Kong Government
Leave Home Safe