Coronavirus: Hongkongers stranded overseas fear travellers from Britain who returned via Dubai and tested positive for Covid-19 could make getting home harder
- Residents trying to return to Hong Kong from Britain are spending weeks in cities from Dubai to Nairobi in an attempt to get back
- But three positive tests on Thursday leave many fearing their journey home could be tougher than expected
Many had already travelled to Dubai weeks ago, after the government said the only way they would be able to return was by spending three weeks in a destination outside Britain.
The United Arab Emirates is one of the few places still allowing arrivals from there that also offers transit routes to Hong Kong, and had been considered the best available option, at least before Thursday’s news raised the spectre of further disruptions and uncertainty.
One female Hong Kong resident, who flew to Dubai with her family 10 days ago said there was “a high level of anxiety for everyone right now”.
“We all have just one aim: to get home,” the woman, who declined to be named, said.
Travellers who have spent two hours in Britain over the past 21 days have been banned from returning to Hong Kong since December 22, after a more transmissible variant of the virus emerged in the country.