The Hong Kong Government announced this Thursday that, as of January 30, those infected with Covid-19 are no longer required to comply with quarantine, ending a measure in force for almost three years.
Currently, people with Covid-19 must be isolated for five days at home or facilities designated by the Executive.
“The government will adopt a management system that allows citizens to make decisions and assume their own responsibilities,” Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee told the territory’s parliamentarians, quoted by the Hong Kong daily South China Morning Post.
The head of the Chinese administrative region stressed that the decision “is based on science and risk assessment,” adding that this “is a necessary stage for all countries on the road to normality.”
Lee cited the “high vaccination rate” in Hong Kong as one of the factors behind the decision, noting that the epidemic situation in the city “has not worsened” since the land border with mainland China reopened this month.
Hong Kong announced the end of a three-day quarantine for those arriving from abroad in December, three months after hotel quarantines were no longer mandatory. Medical observation in a hotel unit reached 21 days.
Currently, the mandatory use of a mask in all public places is still in force.
Hong Kong, which has applied strict restrictions against Covid-19 – although more relaxed than mainland China and Macao – has so far registered 2.84 million cases and 12,965 deaths, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.
Source: TSF
