Hong Kong’s Chief Executive To Announce End Of Hotel Quarantine Today

HONG KONG – Sources revealed that the Chinese territory’s Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu will make an announcement this afternoon to end Hong Kong’s harsh hotel quarantine, reported Bloomberg on Friday noon (23 September, SGT).

Notably, Hong Kong’s stringent hotel quarantine rules have led to an exodus of talent, while some multinational companies have closed or relocated their business operations because of it.

One of the sources revealed that top government officials meet at noon for a final discussion regarding the city’s COVID-related curbs, with an announcement expected to be made later this afternoon.

One of them said Hong Kong officials will do away with compulsory hotel quarantine and a requirement that new arrivals show a negative PCR test before boarding a plane to the Chinese territory.

However, newly-arrived travellers must monitor their health for 7 days. And if they test positive, they won’t be quarantined at the Penny’s Bay isolation facility.

Notably, Hong Kong is further relaxing its quarantine rules, which was considered among the world’s harshest as it follows mainland China’s “Zero COVID” strategy.

Aside from this, the prolonged closure of Hong Kong’s border has left the city at a disadvantage compared with rivals like Singapore, which has lured more investment and talent after the latter changed its policy to live with COVID-19.