Coronavirus: Hong Kong cut quarantine for Covid-19 close contacts from 21 days to 14, so why not for travellers too?
- Infectious diseases specialists say symptoms of Omicron variant emerge quicker – at about three days on average – providing scientific basis for cut in quarantine time
- But respiratory medicine expert Dr Leung Chi-chiu argues city should keep 21-day quarantine to prevent community spread, especially for highly transmissible variants
A decision by Hong Kong authorities to cut their lengthiest quarantine period for close contacts of Covid-19 patients from 21 days to 14 has brought closer scrutiny to the city’s tough isolation regime, and prompted some local experts to argue the reduction should also apply to incoming travellers.
Infectious diseases specialists told the Post on Tuesday that symptoms of the Omicron variant emerged quicker – at about three days on average – providing the scientific basis for a cut in quarantine time.
“The quarantine period for inbound travellers should certainly be shortened to match those of exposed contacts of Covid-19 cases,” said Dr Siddharth Sridhar, clinical assistant professor of the University of Hong Kong’s department of microbiology, who argued medical evidence suggested quarantine could even be shortened to about 10 days.
On Monday, Dr Chuang Shuk-kwan, head of the Centre for Health Protection’s communicable disease branch, announced the policy shift for close contacts, citing public health and capacity reasons.
“We have seen many more confirmed cases lately and therefore many more close contacts, putting pressure on the capacity of quarantine centres. We also considered the fact that the incubation period for Omicron is quite short, within 14 days for most local and imported cases we have seen in Hong Kong,” Chuang told a press briefing.
Official data showed 317 units at the government’s Penny’s Bay quarantine centre were ready for use as of Tuesday, out of a total capacity of 3,416.
A government source said the policy was not extended to arrivals because the local outbreak was driven by Omicron while globally Delta and other variants were still “out there”.
“The priority right now is to contain the local outbreak while maintaining stringent border controls,” the source said.
