Hong Kong to cut hotel quarantine with health code, report says

HONG KONG plans to cut hotel quarantine for arrivals with the introduction of a 2-colour health code system, Sing Tao Daily reported on Monday (Jul 25).

The government is considering moving to 5 days of hotel quarantine, after which arrivals will be issued with a so-called yellow health code for 2 days that would prohibit them from entering high-risk areas where masks can be removed. Another option under consideration is 4 days of hotel isolation followed by 3 days of yellow code restrictions, according to the report, which cited an unidentified person. Hong Kong currently requires 7-day quarantine for arrivals.

The government is expected to make a decision in the next 1 to 2 weeks, the Chinese-language newspaper said.

The South China Morning Post said the city may roll out the China-style health code as soon as early August to prevent Covid-19 patients and those in quarantine from entering high-risk venues. Authorities are pushing to make Hong Kong's vaccine pass system tied to the Leave Home Safe app more effective by identifying infected people with a red code and giving arrivals in quarantine a yellow code, the report said, citing people it didn't identify.

Separately, Hong Kong will require travellers to the city to fill out an electronic health declaration form before boarding a flight, no longer allowing them to do the paperwork after landing, in an effort to make the process more efficient, the government said in a statement Sunday. The new system will begin on Jul 28 on a trial basis.

In addition to standard health and arrival details, passengers must provide proof of vaccination and a reference number for a quarantine hotel stay in order to get the QR code needed to board a flight into the Asian financial hub, the government said.

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Hong Kong on Sunday reported 4,250 total new Covid-19 infections, including 186 imported cases. BLOOMBERG