Hong Kong to cut quarantine for arrivals to 14 days from next month
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[January 27, 2022]
By Farah Master and Twinnie Siu
HONG KONG (Reuters) -Hong Kong will cut
quarantine for arriving travellers to 14 days from 21 starting Feb. 5,
leader Carrie Lam said on Thursday, a move that follows intense lobbying
from finance executives and diplomats who said the measure was hurting
competitiveness.
Tough coronavirus rules have made Hong Kong one of the world's most
isolated cities, with flights down as much as 90%.
Residents returning from more than 160 countries have been required to
quarantine for 21 days in designated hotels will now have to spend 14
days in a hotel, followed by seven days of self-monitoring, with further
details to be announced. She did not say which countries would be
covered by the new rules.
"It is not because of pressure from anybody. It's just because of
science...that Omicron has a relatively short incubation period," she
told a news briefing, adding that the measure was still unlikely to
satisfy the business community.
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2022/Jan/27/images/ads/current/charrons_bch_2022.png)
On Wednesday, the territory's European Chamber of Commerce said in an
internal report that weeks of quarantine requirements were affecting
desirability and risked an exodus as companies moved staff to Singapore
and the South Korean capital Seoul.
The easing comes as the government tightens rules in the Chinese
territory to curb the spread of the highly transmissible Omicron variant
of the coronavirus, locking down thousands in a congested housing
complex and government facilities.
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![](../images/012722pics/news_z51.jpg)
A woman walks past empty counters of Cathay Pacific at Hong Kong
International Airport following fresh measures to control
coronavirus (COVID-19) infections in Hong Kong, China January 11,
2022. REUTERS/Lam Yik
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2022/Jan/27/images/ads/current/stclara_lda_SPONSOR_090519.png) Schools, playgrounds, gyms and most
venues are shut, while tens of thousands of people must do daily
coronavirus tests.
Lam said citywide restrictions would be extended until Feb. 17, from
a previous date of Feb. 4. Schools will not resume face-to-face
classes until Feb 21.
This week the government announced that some civil servants could
work from home, with some bank staff receiving similar instructions.
Thursday's 164 new infections were a record since the pandemic
started in 2020. It was a fifth consecutive day of cases in the
triple digits after an outbreak linked to the Kwai Chung housing
estate.
Lam said the city needs to raise its vaccination rate to around 90%
from 70% currently before authorities can consider adapting current
policies.
"I cannot stand seeing a lot of people dying in my hospitals so we
will try our best to raise our vaccination rate."
(Additional reporting by Anne Marie Roantree and Jessie Pang;
Writing by Farah Master; Editing by Clarence Fernandez and Mark
Heinrich)
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