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Isolation hotels may be turned back into quarantine facilities for arrivals to the city
The option to convert hotels currently being used as Covid-19 isolation facilities back into quarantine facilities for returning residents and foreign domestic helpers is being discussed between the hotel industry and government, according to Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor.
This came with many Hongkongers now overseas expected to rush back in the wake of the administration moving to lift the flight ban on nine countries from April 1 and halving the compulsory hotel quarantine to seven days.
To combat the fifth wave of the epidemic, the government has converted several quarantine hotels, including Dorsett Tsuen Wan and iclub Ma Tau Wai Hotel, into community isolation facilities starting February 18.
Speaking at LegCo Chief Executive's Question and Answer Session, Lam said the current isolation facilities in Hong Kong were sufficient and not fully occupied. Therefore, authorities were discussing with the industry to turn them back into quarantine hotels.
However, Lam also said some of them were still accommodating Covid patients, which needed to wait for them to leave and disinfect again before welcoming people traveling to Hong Kong.
As to whether the government will consider allocating, on a fee-charging basis, the cabin hospitals for helpers arriving in Hong Kong to undergo quarantine, Lam said hotels will serve as quarantine facilities as far as possible for the time being as they already have reservation systems.
She said it is very difficult to make reservations if other government facilities were used as quarantine hotels.
Hong Kong Tourism Association executive director Timothy Chui Ting-pong said on Wednesday morning in a radio program that not many flights will resume early next month, so it is believed that there will not be too many people returning to Hong Kong by then.
"Northern hemisphere countries will be on summer vacation starting from May when it was expected to be the peak for returning travelers."
He said many designated quarantine hotels have earlier changed to community isolation facilities, significantly reducing the supply. However, the government has shortened the quarantine days, which in another way, increased the number of available rooms.
"The city currently has about 5,600 to 6,000 rooms and could serve more than 10,000 arrivals in a month."
He suggested gradually changing isolation hotels back for quarantine purposes to increase the number of rooms, hoping that the government would relax the flight suspension mechanism.
To combat the fifth wave of the epidemic, the government has converted several quarantine hotels, including Dorsett Tsuen Wan and iclub Ma Tau Wai Hotel, into community isolation facilities starting February 18.
Speaking at LegCo Chief Executive's Question and Answer Session, Lam said the current isolation facilities in Hong Kong were sufficient and not fully occupied. Therefore, authorities were discussing with the industry to turn them back into quarantine hotels.
However, Lam also said some of them were still accommodating Covid patients, which needed to wait for them to leave and disinfect again before welcoming people traveling to Hong Kong.
As to whether the government will consider allocating, on a fee-charging basis, the cabin hospitals for helpers arriving in Hong Kong to undergo quarantine, Lam said hotels will serve as quarantine facilities as far as possible for the time being as they already have reservation systems.
She said it is very difficult to make reservations if other government facilities were used as quarantine hotels.
Hong Kong Tourism Association executive director Timothy Chui Ting-pong said on Wednesday morning in a radio program that not many flights will resume early next month, so it is believed that there will not be too many people returning to Hong Kong by then.
"Northern hemisphere countries will be on summer vacation starting from May when it was expected to be the peak for returning travelers."
He said many designated quarantine hotels have earlier changed to community isolation facilities, significantly reducing the supply. However, the government has shortened the quarantine days, which in another way, increased the number of available rooms.
"The city currently has about 5,600 to 6,000 rooms and could serve more than 10,000 arrivals in a month."
He suggested gradually changing isolation hotels back for quarantine purposes to increase the number of rooms, hoping that the government would relax the flight suspension mechanism.
