The SAR government announced on Monday that it will cancel quarantine exemption arrangements for most of the exemption categories of persons upon their arrival in Hong Kong.

Consular and diplomatic officers will be required to undergo self-isolation at designated quarantine hotels upon arriving in the city, where home isolation will no longer be an option. Consuls general or representatives in Hong Kong at equivalent or higher level will still be exempted.

Exemptions for directors of Hong Kong-listed firms carrying out business activities in the city and construction workers who work on the mainland will also be canceled.

However, persons from specific categories that are necessary to maintain the continuing functioning of the community and supply of necessities will be retained.

They include cross-boundary goods vehicle drivers, crew members of aircraft, sea crew of cargo vessels loading and unloading in Hong Kong, and government officials.

A government spokesman said the new measures will strengthen the prevention of importation of cases and tackle the threat posed by mutant strains by further minimizing the chance of transmission of the virus from imported cases into the community.

The spokesman added that it would “foster favorable conditions for resuming cross-boundary travel with the Mainland and cross-border travel in future."