[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyunjung] Hong Kong will shorten the hotel quarantine period for travelers from 21 days to 14 days following repeated appeals from the business community.
Carrie Lam, Hong Kong's Chief Executive, announced at a press conference on the 27th (local time) that this regulation will be applied to incoming travelers starting from the 5th of next month. This decision was made considering that the incubation period of the COVID-19 Omicron variant is shorter than that of the original virus.
Prior to this, there had been appeals from senior business officials and diplomats in Hong Kong that the long quarantine regulations were harming the country's competitiveness. Additionally, travelers faced cost issues due to having to pay for extended hotel quarantine themselves, and there were difficulties securing accommodations because the number of government-designated quarantine hotels was insufficient.
The suspension of in-person classes will continue until the 21st of next month, and the current strengthened social distancing measures will also be extended until the 17th of next month.
Hong Kong currently bans entry of passenger flights from eight countries including the United States and the United Kingdom, and prohibits transit for travelers from 150 countries including Korea. Furthermore, high-intensity quarantine measures are being implemented, such as banning dining inside restaurants after 6 p.m. and closing entertainment venues. As a result, Hong Kong has been referred to as "the world's strongest quarantine station."
Chief Executive Lam said, "There are many invisible transmission chains in the community, and we are busy trying to break them," and urged people to "stay home and refrain from gatherings during the Lunar New Year holiday."
On this day, Hong Kong recorded 164 new confirmed cases, the highest since January 2020. The cumulative number of cases is 13,626, with 213 deaths.
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