Hong Kong ends hotel quarantines for foreign arrivals
Hong Kong, Sep 23 (EFE).- Hong Kong announced Friday that it would stop requiring mandatory quarantines in hotels as a preventive measure against Covid-19 and would only require a three-day observation period for those arriving from abroad.
John Lee, the city’s Chief Executive,said at a press conference that the measure comes before the “stabilization of the number of infections,” adding that the three days of observation can be done at home or in a hotel of the traveler’s choice.
He also said antigen tests could now be presented instead of a PCR test 24 hours before flying to the city.
The measures will be applied from Monday and also includes the lifting of the veto for residents who have not been vaccinated and want to return to the city.
Until now, the city used a format of three days of isolation in a hotel plus another four of observation, with a zero tolerance policy against the coronavirus similar to that in force in mainland China that includes the isolation of those infected in specialized facilities.
The restrictions have caused Singapore to overtake Hong Kong as the main financial center in Asia and rank third in the world, according to the latest report by the Global Financial Centers Index, one of the reference sources for rankings in this sector, which places New York and London in the top positions.
Hong Kong has fallen to fourth place in the latest Global Financial Centers index, published Thursday, which justifies the decision on the effect of the zero Covid-19 policy marked by Beijing on the former British colony and the resulting exodus of talent.
The Chinese cities of Shanghai, Beijing and Shenzhen remain among the top 10 positions, despite the draconian measures against the pandemic that Beijing still imposes within the country, effectively isolated from the rest of the world. EFE
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