The Hong Kong government requires a declaration from Indian authorities certifying that laboratories producing coronavirus test results have been approved by them.

Sahay, the general manager of a travel company, and his wife, were two of 211 passengers, including 16 infants, on an Air India flight from New Delhi that landed in Hong Kong at 6.15pm.

It was the first flight from India since the Hong Kong government announced new health measures for travellers from high-risk countries.

Since July 25, travellers from nine high-risk countries, including India and the United States, have been required to present health certificates before boarding, showing they are free of the virus.

The test has to be taken within 72 hours before boarding, and passengers also must carry proof showing they have booked a hotel for at least two weeks for self-quarantine upon arrival.

Additionally, they are required to provide a letter issued by the local government certifying the laboratory or health care institution that conducted the test was recognised by the country’s authorities.

However, Sahay and other passengers the Post spoke to said the letter issued by the local government was the most difficult document to obtain, with some passengers unable to make the flight from New Delhi for this reason alone.

“I spent almost 11 hours trying to get this document,” Sahay said. “We thought it would not be very difficult, but when we approached the chief district medical officer, he said the list was already published on the government website, so why do you need a letter from us?”

India has a centralised system showing all laboratories that are authorised by the government, and the list is available on the website of the Indian Council of Medical Research.

The officer refused to sign a letter for Sahay. He went to numerous officials in Delhi, who all gave him the same answer.

Eventually, he was able to get the letter from an official in the country’s defence ministry through a personal connection.

“Every lab in India that is allowed to do Covid-19 tests is listed on the [ICMR] website and the Indian consulate in Hong Kong has also submitted it to the Hong Kong government, but still they do not accept it,” he said. “I really do not know why.

“A letter can be forged, but an official government website cannot be faked.”

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A manager for the airline confirmed to the Post the flight was delayed because of documentation issues, and that “some of the passengers had been denied boarding, because they did not meet the requirements” of Hong Kong health and immigration authorities.

The Air India flight that carried Sahay was part of the Indian government’s Vande Bharat Mission, created to repatriate Indian citizens home from Hong Kong. The plan, which was expanded to bring Hong Kong residents back from India as well, called for two direct round-trip flights, with the second set to depart on Friday.

The Security Bureau confirmed to the Post that the government “acceded to the request from Indian authorities for two special flights”.

Passengers on a separate charter flight from New Delhi to Singapore, who then boarded a commercial flight from Singapore to Hong Kong, arrived on Wednesday.

In response to a question by the Post as to whether India’s centralised database would serve as sufficient proof that a laboratory had been officially approved to conduct Covid-19 tests, the Department of Health only said all information was on the Hong Kong government’s coronavirus website.

Passengers who successfully made the journey reported waiting for more than 16 hours at the AsiaWorld-Expo testing centre near the airport.

While passengers from low-risk countries have been allowed to await their results either at home or their quarantine hotel since July 3, those arriving from high-risk areas in the afternoon or evening are still required to spend the night until confirmed negative for the virus.

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A holding centre for that purpose is located at the Regal Oriental Hotel, but access is dependent on capacity, meaning some can be required to spend the night at the testing centre. Photos seen by the Post showed families and children sleeping on the floor at the AsiaWorld-Expo.

One passenger said their 82-year-old mother who uses a wheelchair was “exhausted” after spending the night at the facility, and asked why concessions were not made for elderly or disabled people waiting for test results.

An evening statement from the Department of Health did not address whether such concessions might be made.

Sahay said passengers cleared immigration and reached the testing site by 10pm on Monday. They received their test results the next day at 11.25am.

“A table and chairs were given to people, but no beds,” he said. “It was very unhygienic. People slept on the floor.”

As of July 31, the Immigration Department said it had contacted about 6,700 Hong Kong residents stranded in India, including 590 HKSAR passport holders, with about 3,000 having already returned to the city.

Among those still stranded in India is Jesse Chung, who went to New Delhi a week before the country imposed a lockdown on March 24, on a short-term contract as an intern with the United Nations’ Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific.

The 26-year-old expected to return to Hong Kong in July, as his visa expires at the end of August.

On Monday, he went to an authorised laboratory near his flat and was told he would not be able to get a letter.

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His girlfriend in Hong Kong, Joey Law, said she spent two days trying to get help from a government official, and eventually someone from the Food and Health Bureau told her to try printing off the 75-page list available on the ICMR website, and “see if the airline would allow it”.

“I was surprised because they are the policymakers, and that is not what the Hong Kong government website says,” she said.

Increasingly desperate and unable to get on a direct flight to Hong Kong, Chung spent HK$9,000 to book a flight to the city via London on August 19. He still needs a negative Covid-19 test and the necessary documents.

However, unable to get the government letter, he said he was going to try his luck with the list issued by authorities.

“I’m not sure whether they will let me board the flight, but that is the best that I can do,” he said.