Coronavirus: Hong Kong could announce new shorter quarantine measures next week
- City leader John Lee says city’s temporary hospitals could be transformed into quarantine facilities for those going to China
- Hong Kong reports 4,683 new Covid-19 infections, 193 of which were imported, and four more deaths
Hong Kong is set to shorten the hotel quarantine period for arrivals with an announcement next week at the earliest, the Post has learned, while officials are considering converting makeshift hospitals and isolation facilities for Covid-19 patients for use by mainland China-bound travellers.
Sources earlier revealed that officials were planning to cut the current week-long hotel quarantine period for fully vaccinated overseas arrivals to a “3+4” or “4+3” arrangement, referring to the combination of days spent in a designated hotel and in self-isolation.
One source on Saturday said the announcement would be made next week at the earliest, possibly on Tuesday.
The new arrangement is expected to be rolled out together with a two-colour health code similar to the system in mainland China aimed at better enforcing Covid-19 rules for infected patients and arrivals. The system will be tied to the vaccine pass installed in the government’s risk exposure “Leave Home Safe” app.
Covid-19 patients will be issued with a red code, which will bar them from going to public places, while arrivals will be given a yellow code, restricting them from certain premises.
The city on Saturday reported 4,683 new Covid-19 infections, 193 of which were imported, and four more deaths. The overall tally has risen to 1,349,360 cases, with 9,501 related fatalities.