Hong Kong extends ban for high-risk countries

Arrivals from the United Kingdom, Brazil, Ireland and South Africa cannot enter Hong Kong.

The Hong Kong government has today announced that it will be extending its ban on arrivals from certain high-risk countries. It has also detailed changes to its grading of regions according to coronavirus risk. These alterations will be effective from today.

Overseas destinations will now be placed into three groups, Group A for extremely high-risk, Group B for very high-risk and Group C for medium to high-risk. Mainland China, Taiwan and Macau have not been included in the groupings.

At the current time, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Brazil and South Africa have been placed in Group A, all areas formerly classified as 'High Risk Countries' (HRC) fall under Group B and the rest of the world is classed as Group C.

Travellers who have spent more than two hours in a Group A country on the day of boarding or in the 21 days prior to departure are banned from entering Hong Kong.

For Groups B and C, the current quarantine and entry restrictions will continue. This means that anyone who has stayed in places outside of China in the previous 21 days to arriving in Hong Kong must enter quarantine for 21 days in a designated hotel. Arrivals from Group B countries must also take a Covid-19 test within 72 hours of departure.

“The government recognises that maintaining the above stringent requirement may inevitably affect the return journey of a number of Hong Kong residents in these places,” said a government spokesperson. “However, as the new variants are more transmissible, and the epidemic situation in the four places (Group A) mentioned above remain severe, it is necessary for the Government to firmly guard against the importation of Covid-19 cases in order to protect the well-being of Hong Kong residents.”

The government will continue to monitor the global situation and review these regulations as necessary. More details can be found online.