The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government today said it has strengthened the testing of inbound travellers from Beijing in response to the latest COVID-19 situation in Beijing.

In view of the epidemic’s latest development, Beijing authorities have announced the elevation of response level for public health emergency from Level 3 to Level 2 and the subsequent implementation of various prevention and control measures on social distancing and restricting the flow of people.

Such measures include the resumption of closed community management and the forbidding of those with risk of infection to leave the city.

In general, people are advised not to leave Beijing unless necessary. Those who need to leave must possess proof of negative testing result for COVID-19 nucleic acid test that is taken within the past seven days.

The Hong Kong SAR Government explained that as a prudent measure and arrangement under the joint efforts with Mainland authorities in disease prevention and control, the Department of Health will enhance port health measures in disease prevention and control and strengthen testing for relevant inbound travellers.

Under the Prevention & Control of Disease Ordinance (Cap 599), unless exempted, all asymptomatic inbound travellers arriving at the Hong Kong International Airport are mandated to wait for test results at a designated location after submitting their deep throat saliva samples for COVID-19 testing at the department’s Temporary Specimen Collection Centre at AsiaWorld-Expo.

Should they test negative, they will be subject to compulsory quarantine for 14 days at a designated place.

In response to the situation in Beijing, the department, since yesterday, has been distributing specimen bottles to people exempted from compulsory quarantine who had travelled to Beijing 14 days prior to arrival at the airport.

Such people should collect their deep throat saliva sample at home in accordance with the instructions, and deliver it to one of the collection points in the same morning while under medical surveillance at the same time.

As for land control points, those who have been to Beijing in the past 14 days must possess proof of negative testing result for COVID-19 nucleic acid test that is taken within the past seven days. They will also be given specimen bottles for conducting COVID-19 testing and are required to collect and submit their deep throat saliva samples.

For arrivals who are not exempted people, they are subject to compulsory quarantine for 14 days at a designated place while exempted people are subject to medical surveillance upon arrival at Hong Kong.

The department will closely monitor the latest COVID-19 situation around the world and review the quarantine and testing arrangements for inbound travellers, the Hong Kong SAR Government added.