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Hong Kong trail runner Wong Ho-chung hit by quarantine changes, coach blasts government for giving Nicole Kidman ‘free pass’
- Wong, in France preparing for UTMB, now has to quarantine for 21 days instead of seven upon returning from gruelling 171km race
- North Face team director Ryan Blair worries the city’s most decorated racer could sustain injuries after hotel lockdown
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Hong Kong’s most decorated trail runner of all-time finds himself among the countless people affected by the government’s snap decision to tighten entry rules for arrivals from countries battling Covid-19 resurgences, increasing quarantines to 21 days.
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Wong Ho-chung, in France preparing for the 2021 Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc, found out the day he was set to fly via Geneva, Switzerland that the Hong Kong government was reclassifying a number of countries to high-risk, which would mean an expected 21 day quarantine for the racer which was originally only supposed to be seven days.
This was just the start of what North Face Adventure Team director Ryan Blair said has been a “nightmare”, all while Wong is preparing for one of the most important races of his career.
“Wong is a world-class athlete from Hong Kong competing at the de facto world championships of his sport who also has dedicated his career life as a firefighter helping Hong Kong,” said Blair, who travelled with the racer along with other team members and support crew overseas.
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“And he has undergone multiple types of Covid tests and vaccines, yet he has to deal with being stranded abroad and a 21-day quarantine, while a foreign Australian actress get a free pass and not even one day of quarantine?”
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