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Hong Kong’s new travel restrictions would result in the government streamlining overseas places from a five-tier to a three tier system, potentially making it easier for Hong Kong residents to return from high-risk areas.

Hong Kong has announced New Travel restrictions for arriving vaccinated persons and unvaccinated travelers effective August 9, 2021. Hong Kong’s new travel restrictions would result in the government streamlining overseas accommodation from a five-tier to a three-tier system that could allow some Hong Kong residents stranded overseas to return to the SAR, as well as business and leisure travel into the territory, although there are some strict protocols in place.

Hong Kong’s new COVID-19 travel restrictions would result in government dividing overseas travel destinations into three groups; high risk, medium risk and low risk.

These new restrictions are designed to encourage the inclusion of vaccines in the SAR while maintaining their zero-COVID stance on infections. In Hong Kong, 44% of first doses of the vaccine are given in the city, with no new local infections for 57 days. The travel announcement came at the same time as the city forced civil servants, civil servants and health workers to to get have been vaccinated or pay the bill for regular tests alone.

The recategorization from a five to a three-tier system would consider a variety of factors including “Public health considerations (such as the epidemic situation in certain places, test rate, vaccination rate, the volume of traveler and actually imported cases) as well as otherslocal socio-economic factors “, read a press release.

listed as separate categories,groups A1(extremely risky) and A2 (very risky) would now merge into group A (high risk) as arResult of the new guidelines. This could make it easier for Hong Kong to return Residents fromBrazil, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Nepal, Pakistan, the Philippines, Russia, South Africa and the United Kingdom.

Beginning August 9, 2021, travelers returning from Group A destinations will be required to provide evidence of vaccination from a strict World Health Organization regulatory agency, negative PCR test performed 72 hours prior to departure, and mandatory 21-day hotel quarantine . A 21-day washout period would still apply to those who do not meet vaccination requirements.

Hong Kong’s new travel restrictions also set rules for incoming travelers from Group B countries (anywhere outside of China and Group C) for 14 days with proof of vaccination. In addition, submitting a positive serological antibody test performed in the past three3 months by a Hong Kong government-approved laboratory could cut that quarantine time in half.

Group C policies apply to travelers arriving from Australia, New Zealand, mainland China and Macau, where unvaccinated residents and non-residents only need to go through a mandatory 14-day quarantine, while vaccinated travelers only need to stay in a hotel for seven nights.

The provision of non-residents could result in some business and leisure trips returning to the city.

In the meantime, special attention is paid to Singapore hoping to allow the resumption of quarantine trips in September when 80% of the city-state’s population should be vaccinated.

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