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Exclusive | Coronavirus: Hong Kong ‘weighing tighter controls on travellers from United States’; city confirms 2 imported cases
- One option involves US arrivals again having to quarantine in a hotel for 21 days, as opposed to the 14 currently required of vaccinated travellers
- The changes are being considered as Hong Kong prepares to unveil a broader overhaul of its risk ranking system for foreign countries
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Hong Kong is considering tightening coronavirus measures for travellers from the United States, as authorities prepare to unveil a broader overhaul of risk rankings for foreign countries, according to industry sources.
One of the options being considered involved arrivals from the US again having to quarantine in designated hotels for 21 days – as opposed to the 14 currently required of vaccinated travellers – said sources close to the government who were briefed on the imminent changes.
However, a consensus had not been reached yet, and Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor would have the final say, multiple sources noted.
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Foreign countries are currently ranked according to their risk levels under a scheme that specifies the length and location of the required quarantine period, as well as the frequency of coronavirus tests. An overhaul could see those requirements change for some arrivals, and even potentially pave the way for the resumption of flights from “extremely high-risk” locations.
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“We do expect an announcement … from the government regarding new 599H country/region groupings,” an industry source said, referring to the local ordinance dealing with international travellers.
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