The Government announced today that it will maintain the measure to restrict people who have stayed in the extremely high-risk specified places from boarding flights for Hong Kong.

 

The 21-day compulsory quarantine requirement for people arriving in Hong Kong who have stayed in places outside China will also continue.

 

The Government said the decision was made in view of the continued severe global COVID-19 situation, adding that it is necessary to protect the whole community’s health by firmly guarding against the importation of the new virus variants.

    

That said, the Government noted that since late December last year, the number of newly confirmed cases in the UK, where the majority of the affected Hong Kong residents are situated, has fallen from the high of over 400,000 a week to about 40,000 in the first week of March.

 

Additionally, more than 24 million people in the UK, or over one-third of the population, have received at least the first vaccine dose.

 

As such, the Government is exploring arrangements that could facilitate these residents’ direct return to Hong Kong without compromising the local community’s public health. Details will be announced separately.