Coronavirus: Hong Kong may cut hotel quarantine to 5 days, with 2 more in home isolation, incoming health minister says
- Professor Lo Chung-mau, who will be new secretary for health on July 1, reveals ‘5+2’ option among possibilities being considered
- Mainland China has reduced quarantine time for overseas arrivals, a move that could open up room for manoeuvring on city’s Covid-19 curbs, some experts say
Hong Kong could cut hotel quarantine for travellers to five days, with another two to be spent in home isolation, the incoming health minister has told the Post.
Professor Lo Chung-mau on Tuesday revealed the possibility of the city easing its Covid-19 curbs, the same day mainland China reduced quarantine time for overseas arrivals.
Some health experts and politicians said the mainland’s move could have an impact on Hong Kong’s own Covid-19 restrictions and open up room for manoeuvring, provided the change was backed up by scientific evidence and data.
Lo will become the new secretary for health on July 1. He told the Post he had been weighing different options that could help shorten quarantine.
“The 5+2 option is among those we have been considering,” he said, referring to an option of five days’ quarantine in hotels and the remaining two days at home.
“But since we are still a few days from taking office, and we do not want to override the policies of the current administration, we would only make further announcements when we take office.
“I know residents and travellers are looking forward to hearing some good news. We are actively considering these options.”
The mainland on Tuesday announced the biggest change to its entry rules since it closed its borders in March 2020, as officials decided to cut quarantine time for overseas arrivals to seven days at a government-run facility, followed by another three days in home isolation.
China eases quarantine for overseas arrivals based on ‘lessons learned’
Lei Zhenglong, an official with the National Health Commission, on Tuesday said the policy change was based on “huge amounts of scientific evidence” collected from pilot schemes in April and May, as well as “the lessons learned” from recent outbreaks in Shanghai and Jilin province.
The Covid-19 situation had been stable this month and it was a good time to make the change, he said.
Earlier this month, Beijing, Wuhan in Hubei province, Wuxi and Xuzhou in Jiangsu province, and Zhejiang province all cut the quarantine time for inbound travellers to seven days at a designated facility, followed by seven days of home isolation.
In April, cities including Dalian and Suzhou piloted a reduced quarantine period of 10 days instead of 14 at a designated facility.
Hong Kong government pandemic adviser Professor David Hui Shu-cheong said a move to the “5+2” option for quarantine was possible, but the Department of Health needed to first examine local scientific data such as the incubation period of the virus in recent imported infections.
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Hong Kong's travel restrictions are increasingly difficult to justify
Even then, Hui said the option should come with certain conditions attached. “Only quarantined persons with a home with a separate bedroom and toilet should be allowed,” he said, as this could prevent transmission of virus to family members in the last two days of home isolation.
Respiratory medicine specialist Dr Leung Chi-chiu, however, said he believed further relaxation should not be considered lightly.
“Hong Kong has already adjusted the hotel quarantine to seven days in line with the shorter incubation period of Omicron. Further shortening is not in line with either objective data or the newly adopted quarantine policy on the mainland,” he said.
Leung argued that a shorter quarantine period carried the additional risk of new variants being imported.
Hong Kong lawmakers, business leaders call for cutting hotel quarantine to 3 days
“With BA.5 gaining dominance in other parts of the world, leading to an increase both in cases and hospitalisations, we need to make certain that the local herd immunity is strong enough to cope with a BA.5 wave in our ageing population,” he said, referring to the Omicron subvariant which scientists believed spread faster than previous ones.
The Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong (DAB) on Monday held an online meeting with Lo, arguing for its proposal to allow Hongkongers wishing to visit the mainland to use local community isolation facilities built during the city’s recent fifth Covid-19 wave for quarantine.
DAB lawmaker Elizabeth Quat said Beijing’s move created “favourable political conditions” for the city to adjust its quarantine curbs.
“But Hong Kong needs to justify how it can do it safely with fewer than seven days of hotel quarantine, as after all, Beijing’s new policy is also using seven days of hotel isolation,” she said.
Reopening border with mainland to be priority: Hong Kong’s incoming minister
Hong Kong on Tuesday recorded a drop in Covid-19 caseloads for a second day. Officials confirmed 1,685 infections, down from 1,873 the day before and 1,917 on Sunday, when the daily tally hit a recent high.
The overall coronavirus tally in the city now stands at 1,241,181 cases, with 9,399 related fatalities as one more death was recorded.
No new infections were recorded in the city’s care homes for the elderly and disabled. A total of 172 schools confirmed 202 new cases with no outbreaks on campus.
Additional reporting by Fiona Sun
