Coronavirus: Hong Kong ban on flights from Britain pushes travellers to plan third-country stopovers
- Hongkongers seeking to return home are now looking at places such as Spain and Dubai to wait out the three weeks before they can enter
- Hotels in Hong Kong report wave of cancellations, while city’s sole new case involves arrival from Britain
Monday’s announcement left Hongkongers in the European country reeling and many raced to snap up limited air tickets and bookings for the compulsory 21-day hotel quarantine after landing.
Why would I pay for a Hong Kong hotel quarantine … when you could go to Dubai or Spain … and live like normal for three weeks?
Of the roughly 40 imported cases recorded over the past two weeks, about 30 per cent came from Britain, most of which involved the more transmissive Delta variant first detected in India, University of Hong Kong microbiologist Dr Ho Pak-leung told a radio show.
Ho said the government took a “correct and timely” step to put Britain back on the list of “extremely high-risk” countries to avoid a surge in infections as students studying overseas began to return home for the summer.
Returning Britain to the highest risk category means anyone who has stayed there for more than two hours during the past 21 days cannot enter Hong Kong starting on Thursday.
