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Saturday, Feb 22, 2025
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Visitors required to undergo additional compulsory testing on the ninth day of arrival
Starting from June, inbound persons boarding flights from overseas places or Taiwan are only required to present the negative PCR result proof within 48 hours prior to scheduled time of departure and with samples collected by a laboratory or healthcare institution.
And children aged below three who have stayed in overseas places or Taiwan will no longer be required to present the proof of the 48-hour pre-departure nucleic acid test when boarding. However, upon arrival, the young children will still be subject to PCR tests as per existing arrangement, and be transferred to designated quarantine hotels for compulsory quarantine by designated transport under closed-loop management.
The government also lift the requirement for passengers transferring or transiting in Hong Kong to present proof of the 48-hour pre-departure nucleic acid test starting from June 1. But for the inbound persons who will enter the community, the government will continue to implement the stringent quarantine and testing arrangements.
Currently, for all persons arriving in Hong Kong who have stayed in overseas places, apart from a PCR test conducted on the fifth day of arrival in Hong Kong during compulsory quarantine in quarantine hotels, they must also undergo a PCR test on the 12th day of arrival, regardless of whether they have been discharged early from compulsory quarantine.
In order to enhance the health surveillance of those visitors and to detect and isolate infected persons earlier, all relevant persons arriving in Hong Kong on or after May 24 and being discharged early from compulsory quarantine will be required to undergo an additional compulsory testing on the ninth day of arrival.
For persons travelling to Hong Kong from overseas places or Taiwan that are recovered persons previously infected with COVID-19, they can be exceptionally allowed to board a flight for Hong Kong if they hold the documentary proof to show that they were infected 14 to 90 days prior to boarding for Hong Kong and have recovered, and the result of the rapid antigen test (RAT) conducted within 24 hours prior to boarding was negative.
In addition, the government updates the penalty under flight suspension mechanism. Starting on June 1, if it is the first instance within a 10-day period for a certain flight to trigger the mechanism due to passengers' non-compliance of the boarding conditions, the Airport Authority Hong Kong will impose a penalty of HK$20,000.
If the flights of the relevant route triggers the criterion again within 10 days, the passenger flights of that route run by the relevant airline from the same origin place will be prohibited from landing in Hong Kong for five days.
If an airline refuses to pay for the penalty, the route will be prohibited from landing in Hong Kong when the relevant criterion is triggered in the first instance in accordance with the existing arrangement.
The government also lift the requirement for passengers transferring or transiting in Hong Kong to present proof of the 48-hour pre-departure nucleic acid test starting from June 1. But for the inbound persons who will enter the community, the government will continue to implement the stringent quarantine and testing arrangements.
Currently, for all persons arriving in Hong Kong who have stayed in overseas places, apart from a PCR test conducted on the fifth day of arrival in Hong Kong during compulsory quarantine in quarantine hotels, they must also undergo a PCR test on the 12th day of arrival, regardless of whether they have been discharged early from compulsory quarantine.
In order to enhance the health surveillance of those visitors and to detect and isolate infected persons earlier, all relevant persons arriving in Hong Kong on or after May 24 and being discharged early from compulsory quarantine will be required to undergo an additional compulsory testing on the ninth day of arrival.
For persons travelling to Hong Kong from overseas places or Taiwan that are recovered persons previously infected with COVID-19, they can be exceptionally allowed to board a flight for Hong Kong if they hold the documentary proof to show that they were infected 14 to 90 days prior to boarding for Hong Kong and have recovered, and the result of the rapid antigen test (RAT) conducted within 24 hours prior to boarding was negative.
In addition, the government updates the penalty under flight suspension mechanism. Starting on June 1, if it is the first instance within a 10-day period for a certain flight to trigger the mechanism due to passengers' non-compliance of the boarding conditions, the Airport Authority Hong Kong will impose a penalty of HK$20,000.
If the flights of the relevant route triggers the criterion again within 10 days, the passenger flights of that route run by the relevant airline from the same origin place will be prohibited from landing in Hong Kong for five days.
If an airline refuses to pay for the penalty, the route will be prohibited from landing in Hong Kong when the relevant criterion is triggered in the first instance in accordance with the existing arrangement.
