HONG KONG: Hong Kong will tighten travel and quarantine requirements for a number of nations, including Singapore, Malaysia, and Japan, starting from Friday (May 21).
The three nations, along with Argentina, Italy, Kenya, and the Netherlands, have been classified as high-risk places, introduced by the Hong Kong government on Monday.
Non-Hong Kong residents who’ve stayed in these locations won’t be allowed to enter the city.
Travelers who’ve been in these high-risk locations 14 days before entering Hong Kong must present a negative result from a nucleic acid COVID-19 test conducted within 72 hours before departure.
They must also produce confirmation of a room reservation in a designated quarantine hotel in Hong Kong, and be subject to a “test-and-hold” arrangement at the airport.
Upon confirmation of a negative test result, they will be required to board the designated transport arranged by the government to proceed to quarantine.
Travelers arriving from these places who are have not been fully vaccinated will need to quarantine for 21 days at designated hotels and are subject to 4 COVID-19 tests during this period.
Those who are fully vaccinated will have a shorter 14-day quarantine, with three tests during this period. They will also need to self-monitor for seven days, as well as get compulsory tests on the 16th and 19th day following arrival in Hong Kong.
Singapore was previously classified as low risk, allowing travelers to Hong Kong to quarantine for seven days in a designated hotel with two COVID-19 tests.
It was announced earlier on Monday that a planned travel bubble between Singapore and Hong Kong has been postponed for a second time amid a rise in local COVID-19 infections in Singapore.
Hong Kong also tightened restrictions on Taiwan arrivals due to the rise in cases there, the South China Morning Post reported on Sunday.
“The government will continue to closely monitor the epidemic situation of various places, the prevalence of new virus variants, vaccination progress, and changes within the volume of cross-boundary passenger traffic,” the Hong Kong government stated in a press release.
It added that it’ll “adjust the boarding and compulsory quarantine requirements for individuals arriving at Hong Kong from relevant places as the situation warrants”.
