Hong Kong News

Nonpartisan, Noncommercial, unconstrained.
Friday, Mar 29, 2024

Hongkongers stuck overseas face fight to return despite vaccine records deal

Hongkongers stuck overseas face fight to return despite vaccine records deal

Battle for flights and rooms in quarantine hotels among issues facing residents trying to get back to city, day after government announces it will recognise documents from five countries

A fight for flights and quarantine hotel rooms, and confusion over new entry documents, are among the issues still facing stranded Hongkongers in coronavirus hotspots, a day after the government announced it would recognise vaccination records from five countries.

For months, countries in the city’s top category of Covid-19 risks, including India and Pakistan, were subject to a flight ban that prevented most residents from returning.

Hong Kong overhauled its entry rules last month, effectively removing the ban for vaccinated residents, but it meant little to many, as authorities refused to recognise inoculated records issued by the countries in which they were stranded.

In Asia, only those issued by Japan were recognised, as the country is on the World Health Organization’s list of “stringent regulatory authorities”, a requirement insisted on by Hong Kong officials.

People isolating at the Dorsett Wanchai hotel.


Then two weeks ago, city officials announced they had reached a deal with the Philippines and Indonesia, and would recognise their inoculation records to allow domestic helpers to travel.

Following pressure from stranded Hongkongers in India and other high-risk countries, the government announced late on Monday evening it had made similar arrangements with five countries – India, Pakistan, Malaysia, Thailand and South Korea – meaning those with the legitimate vaccine records could come in from Wednesday onwards.

Anilesh Kumar, a 32-year-old researcher at Baptist University, who has been separated from his wife and 18-month-old son for six months, was “absolutely elated” about the news.

“It has been such a psychological nightmare … I hope now my family can come and the ordeal is finally coming to an end,” he said.




But that feeling had been mixed with confusion and uncertainty, Kumar said, as the realities of trying to get his family back to Hong Kong set in.

First, there is confusion over the crucial document. Kumar’s wife holds the “Final Certificate for Covid-19 Vaccination”, issued by the Indian government’s Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, which was published on Hong Kong’s government website.

But the space where her “Unique Health ID” number should be is blank, as it was for Rhea Mahtani, who is also stuck in India.

They suspect the designation could refer to an Indian government identification number for holders of the Aadhaar card, which is used for domestic health records.

However, people such as Mahtani, who signed up for Covid-19 vaccinations with their passports, might not have that code, and there is concern that could stop them from being allowed to travel.

Kumar said he had asked the health and immigration departments in Hong Kong for an answer, but had yet to receive a reply.

A spokeswoman from the Food and Health Bureau told the Post only name, passport number and the vaccination dates on the document would be checked for entry.

Then, there is the scramble for flights and the fight to find a quarantine hotel that is not already fully booked.

Kumar said flights to Hong Kong, via Dubai or Bangkok, were in short supply. The convoluted return is required because there are still no direct flights between India and Hong Kong.

Mahtani, who runs her own travel agency in Mumbai, said she secured a seat on a chartered flight on September 28 to Hong Kong, but Kumar said that option was not available to ordinary passengers like his family.

“Opening [travel] is one part, thank you for that, but we still can’t come in if there are no rooms,” Kumar said.

A total of 36 hotels are on the government list of designated establishments, providing 10,000 rooms. But a surge in demand from those stranded in the five countries is expected to see availability cut.

For Lilian Cheah, a 55-year-old Hong Kong-based station manager for a regional airline, it was the constant uncertainty and changes of the government policy that made her life impossible.

After returning to Malaysia in January for six months, Cheah had been planning to fly back to Hong Kong in July, but was unable to book a hotel room as they were snapped up by students on summer break.

By the time the summer rush ended, Hong Kong’s travel restrictions had changed again, and Malaysia was placed on the high-risk list.

Even though Cheah had been vaccinated with the BioNTech vaccine in Malaysia, the city’s government did not recognise it.

“To have that right taken away from me, that’s not fair, we did the Pfizer [BioNTech] vaccine, same as in Hong Kong,” she said. “The Hong Kong government demanded Malaysia must be on the WHO list [of stringent regulatory authorities], which only had Japan at the time among Asian countries. Even Hong Kong is not there, so how can they demand that of us?”

Cheah, who is a permanent resident and married to a Hongkonger, said she planned to watch hotel availability and prices before deciding when to return to the city, but remained concerned the government would change the rules once more.

Newsletter

Related Articles

Hong Kong News
0:00
0:00
Close
It's always the people with the dirty hands pointing their fingers
Paper straws found to contain long-lasting and potentially toxic chemicals - study
FTX's Bankman-Fried headed for jail after judge revokes bail
Blackrock gets half a trillion dollar deal to rebuild Ukraine
Steve Jobs' Son Launches Venture Capital Firm With $200 Million For Cancer Treatments
Google reshuffles Assistant unit, lays off some staffers, to 'supercharge' products with A.I.
End of Viagra? FDA approved a gel against erectile dysfunction
UK sanctions Russians judges over dual British national Kara-Murza's trial
US restricts visa-free travel for Hungarian passport holders because of security concerns
America's First New Nuclear Reactor in Nearly Seven Years Begins Operations
Southeast Asia moves closer to economic unity with new regional payments system
Political leader from South Africa, Julius Malema, led violent racist chants at a massive rally on Saturday
Today Hunter Biden’s best friend and business associate, Devon Archer, testified that Joe Biden met in Georgetown with Russian Moscow Mayor's Wife Yelena Baturina who later paid Hunter Biden $3.5 million in so called “consulting fees”
'I am not your servant': IndiGo crew member, passenger get into row over airline meal
Singapore Carries Out First Execution of a Woman in Two Decades Amid Capital Punishment Debate
Spanish Citizenship Granted to Iranian chess player who removed hijab
US Senate Republican Mitch McConnell freezes up, leaves press conference
Speaker McCarthy says the United States House of Representatives is getting ready to impeach Joe Biden.
San Francisco car crash
This camera man is a genius
3D ad in front of Burj Khalifa
Next level gaming
BMW driver…
Google testing journalism AI. We are doing it already 2 years, and without Google biased propoganda and manipulated censorship
Unlike illegal imigrants coming by boats - US Citizens Will Need Visa To Travel To Europe in 2024
Musk announces Twitter name and logo change to X.com
The politician and the journalist lost control and started fighting on live broadcast.
The future of sports
Unveiling the Black Hole: The Mysterious Fate of EU's Aid to Ukraine
Farewell to a Music Titan: Tony Bennett, Renowned Jazz and Pop Vocalist, Passes Away at 96
Alarming Behavior Among Florida's Sharks Raises Concerns Over Possible Cocaine Exposure
Transgender Exclusion in Miss Italy Stirs Controversy Amidst Changing Global Beauty Pageant Landscape
Joe Biden admitted, in his own words, that he delivered what he promised in exchange for the $10 million bribe he received from the Ukraine Oil Company.
TikTok Takes On Spotify And Apple, Launches Own Music Service
Global Trend: Using Anti-Fake News Laws as Censorship Tools - A Deep Dive into Tunisia's Scenario
Arresting Putin During South African Visit Would Equate to War Declaration, Asserts President Ramaphosa
Hacktivist Collective Anonymous Launches 'Project Disclosure' to Unearth Information on UFOs and ETIs
Typo sends millions of US military emails to Russian ally Mali
Server Arrested For Theft After Refusing To Pay A Table's $100 Restaurant Bill When They Dined & Dashed
The Changing Face of Europe: How Mass Migration is Reshaping the Political Landscape
China Urges EU to Clarify Strategic Partnership Amid Trade Tensions
The Last Pour: Anchor Brewing, America's Pioneer Craft Brewer, Closes After 127 Years
Democracy not: EU's Digital Commissioner Considers Shutting Down Social Media Platforms Amid Social Unrest
Sarah Silverman and Renowned Authors Lodge Copyright Infringement Case Against OpenAI and Meta
Why Do Tech Executives Support Kennedy Jr.?
The New York Times Announces Closure of its Sports Section in Favor of The Athletic
BBC Anchor Huw Edwards Hospitalized Amid Child Sex Abuse Allegations, Family Confirms
Florida Attorney General requests Meta CEO's testimony on company's platforms' alleged facilitation of illicit activities
The Distorted Mirror of actual approval ratings: Examining the True Threat to Democracy Beyond the Persona of Putin
40,000 child slaves in Congo are forced to work in cobalt mines so we can drive electric cars.
×