Letters | Coronavirus in Hong Kong: 28-day quarantine for arrivals not the way to go

Hong Kong residents should be concerned by the knee-jerk reactions to the suggestion by Professor David Hui Shu-cheong, a leading government adviser on Hong Kong’s pandemic response, that the Covid-19 quarantine period should be increased to 28 days in certain circumstances.

Dr Albert Au Ka-wing, the Centre for Health Protection’s principal medical and health officer, said on March 14 that we have to be mindful that the incubation period of this disease is up to 14 days. I have not seen reports that the mutant strains have a longer incubation period.

What is the justification for keeping travellers in quarantine after the 14-day incubation period if they have tested negative? Australia, New Zealand and Taiwan, which have led the world in containing the virus, have all achieved their results with only a 14-day quarantine period for arrivals. Other countries have not found quarantining for longer than 14 days to be necessary.

Based on data from the Department of Health, of the 2,100 or so travellers up to March 23 who had entered Hong Kong with the virus, about 3 to 4 per cent were not identified as infected until after the first 14 days. This is not a function of a longer incubation period, but it should be a wake-up call to the health authorities for a better-quality test at the end of the 14-day incubation period and safer quarantining measures to prevent cross infection.