Hong Kong lifted its mandatory hotel quarantine from Monday, September 26, but other curfew restrictions for those arriving from abroad remain in place.
Quarantine in hotels was canceled, but the tests remained
Against the backdrop of the stabilization of the situation with the coronavirus, the Hong Kong authorities slightly relaxed the rules for the entry of international travelers from September 26.
Yes, the mandatory three-day quarantine in hotels has been canceled and the quarantine hotel system itself has been canceled. The previous “3+4” scheme – three days of mandatory quarantine and four days of self-isolation – has changed to the “0+3” formula. This means that during the first three days of stay, the traveler has to conduct self-monitoring, according to which he is given an orange health code.
According to the new rules, in the first three days, the owners of the “orange” QR code will be prohibited from accessing public places – bars, restaurants, and museums, but at the same time, they can freely move around the city by public transport. The restrictive orange QR code can be removed as early as 9:00 a.m. on the third day of stay in case of a negative result of the PCR test taken on the second day.
Arrivals will no longer need to provide a negative PCR test before boarding the plane. However, they will need to provide a negative Rapid Antigen Test (RAT) 24 hours before boarding. In addition, you will have to take PCR tests on days 2, 4 and 6 after arrival, as well as an express RAT test every day for seven days after arrival.
According to the Ministry of Health of Hong Kong, the lifting of all covid-19 restrictions is not on the agenda so far due to “high risks of introducing infection”.
Entry of unvaccinated persons is still prohibited.