Coronavirus: young Hongkongers express relief over eased quarantine rules for overseas arrivals
- Travellers will be quarantined in designated hotels for three days starting from Friday, after which they can spend four days under ‘home medical surveillance’
- Residents say long-awaited easing of rules will make it easier to visit relatives and return to school or work
For Daniel Chan, a Hong Kong university student who is currently travelling in the United Kingdom, news of the city relaxing its quarantine rules came as a massive relief.
“It feels like I have been told that I will not be going to prison for a few days … I am now more at ease,” he said.
The 20-year-old originally planned to return to the city in mid-August ahead of the start of his university classes on September 1, but he ended up delaying his trip to wait for a potential shortening of the mandatory stay in a designated hotel.
“I figured that I would take a chance on the government cutting the quarantine period and come back on September 1 instead. I could also save some money,” Chan said, adding that the new arrangements meant he would be able to return to school earlier.
Hong Kong on Monday announced that it would ease its Covid-19 entry rules for international arrivals from Friday, requiring them to remain in a hotel for three days before undergoing four days of “home medical surveillance”.
The long-awaited cut from seven days of mandatory hotel quarantine will make entering the city more convenient, with residents saying it will be easier to visit relatives and return to school or work under the latest arrangement.
The city also launched a new health code under which inbound travellers will be given an amber code, barring them from entering most public premises that require the use of the “Leave Home Safe” contact-tracing app, such as restaurants and bars.
