Explainer | Welcome to Hong Kong? With the city’s latest drastic easing of Covid curbs, here’s what you need to know if you’re finally visiting
- Among the biggest changes is the dropping of PCR tests for arrivals and all social-distancing restrictions
- Mask mandate remains, however, and there are limitations to getting vaccinated
Hong Kong on Wednesday announced its most drastic easing of travel curbs and Covid-19 policies since the pandemic emerged nearly three years ago, exempting inbound passengers from post-arrival tests, dropping the vaccine pass scheme and all social-distancing measures.
The move came on the back of Beijing’s announcement two days earlier to scrap mandatory quarantine for arrivals and reopen China’s borders from next month.
The Post unpacks what travellers can expect when visiting Hong Kong.
1. What must I do before departing for Hong Kong?
All arrivals, including those from mainland China, Taiwan, Macau and other countries, will have to obtain a negative result from a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test or rapid antigen test (RAT) 48 or 24 hours respectively before their flight.
They will no longer need to fill in a health declaration form before their arrival, but they must show their test results – a PCR report or a picture of their RAT test – when asked by government officers.
Non-residents from overseas will need to be fully vaccinated to enter the city. For BioNTech, Sinovac and Moderna vaccines, two doses are required. One shot is needed for the CanSinoBIO and Janssen jabs, and three for the Anhui Zhifei Longcom Biopharmaceutical vaccine.
Visitors from the mainland and Taiwan are not required to be vaccinated before entering Hong Kong.
