Beijing, Sept 23, (dpa/GNA) – The Chinese special administrative region of Hong Kong, has lifted the compulsory quarantine for visitors after two and a half years, local media reported on Friday.
From Monday, new arrivals to the city will have to monitor themselves for symptoms for three days, in which they will not be allowed in restaurants or bars, according to local media.
After a negative test on the fourth day after arriving, they are to receive a blue code for their Covid-19 app and are allowed to move freely in the city. A second text on the sixth day is also compulsory, however.
The new rules will also permit people travelling to Hong Kong, to take an antigen test within 24 hours of flying, instead of the current requirement of taking a PCR test within 48 hours of flying.
Arrivals will be tested at the airport, but will not have to wait for the results, and can make their way to a hotel of their own choosing.
Until now, arrivals were required to quarantine in specific hotels for three days, and spend another four days having potential symptoms monitored.
At one point, the Chinese special administration of the region had instated a three-week quarantine for new arrivals.
China continues to follow its zero-Covid policy, and arrivals in the country are still required to spend seven days in a special quarantine hotel, followed by medical observation or further isolation.
Taiwan has also announced that it will lift quarantine rules in mid-October.
GNA