Letters | Hong Kong must tighten Covid-19 vetting before cutting hotel quarantine
- Readers discuss how to keep the community safe while relaxing quarantine rules, the impact of the quarantine room shortage on the school year, and the city’s diminishing appeal
Hong Kong is one of the last holdouts requiring overseas arrivals to endure hotel quarantine. Yet with the city’s status as an international financial hub on the line, the government is being forced to consider shortening the quarantine period to keep up with competition.
Also to be taken into consideration is the evolution of the Covid-19 virus into a milder form causing less serious symptoms.
I agree with experts that any government decision must be based on scientific evidence and with the aim of better controlling the future spread of the virus.
However, one thing that is missing from the experts’ diverse opinions on how to achieve this is an explanation as to why, despite arrivals being required to show proof of a negative PCR test taken within 48 hours before departing for Hong Kong, there are still over 100 people daily testing positive after arriving in the city.
Is there any evidence that the tests they took were not in accordance with normal guidelines? Are there any methods to plug this possible loophole, thus making the shortening of hotel quarantine a lower risk to the local population?