Hong Kong eases entry rules for vaccinated residents, tourists from Aug 9

Asean News Published 2 years ago on 4 August 2021 | Author TIN Media
HONGKONG:

Hong Kong will allow vaccinated tourists from all but 10 places in the world to enter the city from August 9, in a significant easing of some of the tightest border curbs in the world.

Vaccinated visitors from countries now categorized as “medium-risk" -- which includes the U.S. and Canada -- will be able to come to the city for the first time since the pandemic started. Meanwhile, Hong Kong residents from previously banned places like the U.K. and India can now return home.

Visitors and residents from medium-risk places will be asked to spend seven days in hotel quarantine upon entry and they must possess a positive antibody test at a laboratory recognized by the Hong Kong government to prove they are vaccinated against Covid-19. Antibody testing facilities at the airport will be available from mid-August, according to a government statement.

The easing, first announced by Chief Executive Carrie Lam on Monday without detail, also allows children who are not eligible for vaccination to leave hotel quarantine with their inoculated parents after seven days -- though they must then self-isolate at home for another two weeks.
The revived plan, first mooted in June, comes as Hong Kong tries to reopen its economy after nearly two months without local transmission, while keeping out the highly contagious delta strain that’s driving new outbreaks around the world.