Shorter quarantine period for inbound travellers starts from 12 May

The quarantine period adjustment is based on the vaccine bubble concept.

The government has announced the quarantine requirements for inbound travellers will be adjusted based on the vaccine bubble concept, starting 12 May.

"We are shortening the quarantine (periods) according to the risk groups,” Permanent Secretary for Food & Health Thomas Chan said.

“So for these inbound travellers, what we would require (is that they are) only fully vaccinated and (have a) negative PCR (polymerase chain reaction) test (result)."

For one, the quarantine period for fully vaccinated individuals will be reduced.

Those coming from low-risk countries, such as Australia, New Zealand and Singapore, will undergo isolation for seven days, instead of 14 days.

Travellers from medium- and high-risk places will be quarantined for 14 days, instead of 21 days. They will have to self-monitor for the following seven days and take two COVID-19 tests on separate days.

Meanwhile, quarantine arrangements for people in very high-risk places will be unchanged, whilst flight extremely high-risk place will remain banned.

Hong Kong recently lifted the travel ban on the UK and Ireland, but maintained prohibition of flights coming from India, Nepal, Pakistan, and the Philippines.

Read also: Hong Kong lifts UK, Ireland travel ban

Quarantine period for those who arrive from the Mainland, Taiwan and Macau, other than through the Return2hk scheme, will be halved to seven days, plus seven days of self-monitoring.

They will also need to undergo a post-arrival COVID-19 test on a designated day.