Hong Kong lifts flight restrictions imposed by COVID

HONG KONG (AP) — Hong Kong authorities will begin to lift flight restrictions on several countries, including Britain and the United States, and reduce the quarantine period for travelers arriving in the city, the leader of the Chinese administrative region said on Monday, at a time when there is a plateau of infections of coronavirus.

Governor Carrie Lam announced at a press conference that the ban on flights from nine countries — Australia, Canada, France, India, Nepal, Pakistan, the Philippines, the United States and Great Britain — will be lifted as of April 1. This flight ban for most of these countries has been in place since January, when Hong Kong authorities were trying to stop an outbreak of the contagious omicron variant.

Travelers arriving in the city will now have to comply with a quarantine of just seven days in hotels — compared to 14 days previously — if they test negative for the virus on the sixth and seventh days of their quarantine. Such travelers must also be fully vaccinated and test negative before entering the city.

Lam added that plans for mass testing for the entire population of the city, a measure that was first announced in February, have been suspended.

“Experts are of the opinion that it is not right for us to use finite resources in universal mass tests,” Lam explained. “The Government of the Special Administrative Region will continue to monitor the situation. When conditions are right, we will consider whether we are going to implement mandatory universal testing.”

The changes announced on Monday represent a change in the management of the coronavirus pandemic by Hong Kong authorities, which aim to provide direction for businesses and the population after two years of aligning with mainland China's “zero COVID” policy.