HK may end hotel quarantine and pre-arrival tests, media say

Hong Kong may scrap hotel quarantine and pre-flight Covid PCR test requirements for incoming travelers, local media reported, in what would be the financial hub’s most significant moves yet to end years of global isolation. An announcement spelling the end to hotel quarantines, which was cut to three days from seven just weeks ago, could come as soon as this week, Oriental Daily reported. New arrivals may be asked to do rapid antigen tests rather than bring a copy of a negative PCR lab result conducted within the previous 48 hours, removing another hurdle that made travel inconvenient, Sing Tao Daily said, citing unidentified people. The implementation date for removing the hotel quarantine will affect existing operations for the airline and hotel industries and hasn’t yet been decided, according to Oriental Daily. Travelers will instead be required to undergo self-monitoring for seven days, the newspaper said, citing unidentified people. The changes may come before a raft of major international events designed to trumpet Hong Kong’s revival are scheduled to take place starting in late October. Removal of the travel curbs that isolated the city for the past two-and-a-half years, and kept Covid-19 largely at bay until a sweeping outbreak this spring, were considered a prerequisite for many of the visitors Hong Kong was hoping to welcome. <br/>