Hong Kong Shortens Quarantine to 3 days for all

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  • cwoodward
    Participant

    From Friday this week quarantine is reduced to 3 days for those arriving in Hong Kong will only have to stay at designated quarantine hotels for three days. There are now many available

    They then will need to agree to “medical surveillance” either at home or at any hotel for a further 4 days.

    2 users thanked author for this post.

    cwoodward
    Participant

    The 4 day surveillance referred to in the announcement is very light and as I understand it all activates per locals are allowed excluding restaurant dining and publicly accessible gyms.

    https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/3188053/coronavirus-hong-kong-reveal-eased-quarantine

    Masks are still required by all in HK at the moment of course.

    1 user thanked author for this post.

    MartynSinclair
    Participant

    cwoodward, is landing day counted as day 0 or day 1 (so is it 3 or 4 days of Q)?

    Thankfully this will help locals trying to get back, but I can not see this being much of an incentive for the transient business travellers. Do you have a view when Q = 0 days?

    1 user thanked author for this post.

    FaroFlyer
    Participant

    C Woodward, do you know if / when the restrictions from HKG to Shenzhen may ease?


    cwoodward
    Participant

    Martyn. My understanding is NO however I also understand that they will let you depart on the morning of the 3rd day. Still not 100% clear but I do believe that this is correct. Zero Q in a couple months would be my opinion (and vaguely mentioned) if all goes well with this.

    Re ‘incentive for the transient business travellers’ I don’t agree with you 100% – already this PM 2 of our Australian customers say they will be here in 2 weeks and also an engineer from Germany is trying to get here next week. a long weekend in a hotel would not be too unattractive to many I suggest.

    FF I believe not any time soon given that mainland China policy 100% applies to Shenzhen whereas HK is treated more or less as a self governing colony.

    1 user thanked author for this post.

    MartynSinclair
    Participant

    [quote quote=1228333]Re ‘incentive for the transient business travellers’ I don’t agree with you 100% – already this PM 2 of our Australian customers say they will be here in 2 weeks and also an engineer from Germany is trying to get here next week. a long weekend in a hotel would not be too unattractive to many I suggest.[/quote]

    May be if a corporate office was covering the cost, I could allow myself the luxury of spending a long weekend in a 5 star hotel, with all services and food thrown, for a great way to rest and recover from the long-haul.

    I am about to start a 15 night trip to Asia (likely 3 countries), travelling with colleagues for part of the way. Pre covid HKG would be visited at the start and end of each trip for 1 or 2 nights, to see clients. The additional costs and time need to budgeted….

    For employees of large corporates where the who foot the bill, I agree with you, it is enticing. For the businessman who runs his own show these additional costs and time along with the hassles of actually getting in and through HKIA… I will wait for your post confirming, HKG STOPS ALL QUARANTINE.. I hope you will be able create that thread soon.

    4 users thanked author for this post.

    cwoodward
    Participant

    Martyn

    Number 3 son came in from Canada 2 weeks ago and took only 1.50h from landing into Q hotel on the Island….. very early flight though.
    The airports is working well and almost all in Q hotels in under 3 hours……..it took be about 2.5h a week ago.
    If you do get to HK after all please give me a shout.

    2 users thanked author for this post.

    Woodpecker
    Participant

    [postquote quote=1228331]

    As clarified by the Health Chief Lo in the SCMP, the day of arrival is nominated as Day 0. Which means a traveller necessarily stays three nights in the designated quarantine hotel. Provided all tests during the hotel stay are negative, the traveller can leave the hotel around noon on Day 3 (The morning after completion of the third night stay).

    Hopefully by November, all quarantine should be lifted.

    1 user thanked author for this post.

    christ
    Participant

    @ cwoodward – do you think quarantine will all end in November? I thought they were talking about a closed loop for rugby 7s or has that not expected now?

    I wish BA would stop postponing their flights – now December (having said that looking at their European schedule perhaps it is no surprise as I do not imagine all are the airports fault/

    1 user thanked author for this post.

    Polly
    Participant

    3 days, and hope all the tests are negative. Just could not risk being hauled off to a community care facility in HKG. It happened to me in Singapore last Nov, despite ALL my tests being negative. Who know how tests can be fixed to up the local quarantine hotel occupancy???


    cwoodward
    Participant

    Polly

    You would be very unlikely to “hauled off” to a ‘facility- most are closed now in HK and the largest at the old Kai Tak airport is being rebuilt with individual bathrooms, sea/garden views lifts etc. Quarantine hotels in HK are now many and have a lot of availability with Q reduced to 3 days -it took our staff minutes to book 3 of our visitors into hotels yesterday.

    1 user thanked author for this post.

    stevescoots
    Participant

    so as i understand it, for visitors thats 3 days shut in quarantine hotel, and then another 4 days shut in a normal hotel? or for the 4 can you go out, have meetings etc


    christ
    Participant

    You can still go to meetings and shopping malls and public transport as long as you continue to test negative.

    You cannot access places which require the vaccine pass such as bars, restaurants, gyms and pools.

    Therefore you are still very limited what you can do but I guess can attend meetings in an office and go shopping. As a tourist, I suppose you can do most things which are outside such as hike.

    Therefore it seems to me that even though after the initial quarantine, you can go to any hotel, you would be restricted to getting take aways or room service to eat. However many hotels will not accept if been overseas in last 7 or 14 days as they take a more prudent policy (not all). Obviously the benefit is for those with a home here returning as more freedom – not sure whether you could book air bnb for the last 4 days as that would give more freedom.

    I really want to return to Scotland for a bit but with the combination of 7 days of a mix of quarantine and no gym / sport plus the mess of European airports at the moment, it all seems too much hassle.

    1 user thanked author for this post.

    cwoodward
    Participant

    It would be a little naive I feel to believe that the rules will be complied with to the letter (popping into MacDonald’s window for a takeaway burger – buying street food etc.) and of course the government would be well aware of this.
    Many people I see jogging do so still wearing a mask.

    From reading the regulations I can’t see any any restrictions re ABB type places but of course ABB is illegal in HK as is Uber…and checks are made regularly on those advertising but Uber chugs quietly along as no one in the last government can justify why they banned it in the first place,expect the new government to change this situation.

    There is some restriction for visitors for the 4 days but it would be drawing a long bow to cast them is being at all onerous I feel

    1 user thanked author for this post.

    AlanOrton1
    Participant

    christ – helpful update, many thanks. Sadly, from a personal perspective, this is still restrictive for inbound travel to HK for business purposes. Great for those returning to HK who moved away during Covid and have delayed their return until less stringent measures were introduced etc, but if arriving on a work trip on a Monday morning, not being free until Thursday and then having those additional restrictions, still make it pretty punitive.

    2 users thanked author for this post.
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