In a statement issued on Tuesday, the government said teenagers who received the first jab of BioNTech vaccine at least 14 days before boarding can return to Hong Kong starting Friday.

These teenagers will need to undergo a 21-day mandatory hotel quarantine upon arrival. Those from medium and low-risk areas can also have their quarantine period shortened to 14 days and 7 days respectively.

“The scientific committee and experts made such a suggestion after balancing the local pandemic situation and the risk of teenagers developing side effects after vaccination,” a government spokesman said.

This came after the experts last month suggested that Hong Kong should only administer one BioNTech jab to teens between 12 and 17 years old, after seeing a number of post-second-jab heart inflammation in the age group.