Hong Kong will remove the entry ban of non-residents from May 1, 2022, which has been in place since March 2020.
Those wishing to enter the city must follow the exact quarantine requirements as the residents. You must spend a week locked up at a specific accommodation.
Visitors must also do both RAT and PCR-RT tests at the airport upon arrival. They can leave to the quarantine hotel to wait for their PCR-RT results after a negative result from the rapid antigen test is confirmed.
There will be changes to flight bans per SCMP:
The development came as Hong Kong was set to relax the threshold for suspending incoming flights carrying people infected with Covid-19 in early May. The existing three-person threshold would be raised to five.
“Raising the threshold for suspending inbound flights that bring in passengers found to be infected with coronavirus would reduce the likelihood of suspension,” a source said. “The government considers the risks brought by the relaxation of restrictions on incoming travellers since the beginning of the month as still manageable.”
The length of time flight routes are banned will be cut from the current seven days to five, according to the source.
Conclusion
I recently had dinner with a friend who lives in Hong Kong but hasn’t been there soon for a year due to the covid-related travel and quarantine restrictions.
You never know if your flight to the city will operate (many last-minute cancellations), and routes are often suspended with little or no notice at all. It can also be challenging to find a good quarantine hotel for a week, and the most desirable ones are booked fast.
You just wonder how Hong Kong ended up with this situation of never-ending quarantines and flight bans?
Singapore basically removes the last entry restriction from those fully vaccinated (a pre-departure test) from Tuesday, while you need to quarantine for a week if wishing to enter Hong Kong? Can you guess from which country multinationals are moving their regional headquarters out and to where?
