- The US has raised its travel health advice for Hong Kong and Singapore by one level
- However, Hong Kong has not reported any locally transmitted infections since August 17
Hong Kong has not reported any locally transmitted Covid-19 infections since August 17. Photo: May TseThe US on Tuesday said trips to Hong Kong and Singapore had become more dangerous because of the coronavirus, raising its travel health advice for the Asian financial hubs by one level, even though the outbreak in Hong Kong is largely under control.
The US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) raised its advice to Hong Kong one rung to level 2, with level 4 being the most severe, citing a “moderate level” of coronavirus. Unvaccinated travellers with a higher risk of severe illness from Covid-19 should avoid non-essential travel to Hong Kong, the CDC said.
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The CDC has also raised its travel advice for Singapore by one notch to level 3. It said that anyone who hadn’t been vaccinated should avoid non-essential trips to the Lion City, citing a “high level” of Covid-19.
“All travellers may be at risk for getting and spreading Covid variants,” the CDC said of Singapore.
Hong Kong has not reported any locally transmitted infections since August 17. While the city has been registering some imported cases, the daily imported caseload has been less than 10 since August 17.
The city’s border controls are some of the world’s toughest, with inbound travellers required to quarantine for up to 21 days at designated hotels and undergo mandatory testing both during and after isolation.
Singapore, by contrast, has reported almost daily coronavirus caseloads of more than 1,000 since mid-September.
The US is in the midst of another Covid-19 resurgence, as its vaccination rollout stalls. The country added more than 180,000 new cases on Friday, and saw more than 2,700 deaths from the virus.