September 21, 2022
HONG KONG – Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu said on Tuesday the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government aims to make an announcement soon on its COVID-19 hotel quarantine policy for all arrivals, as it wants to keep the city connected with the rest of the world and allow an “orderly opening up”.
Lee said he was conscious Hong Kong needed to retain its competitiveness, adding that authorities were keen to bring back events and activities to the city.
Lee said he was conscious Hong Kong needed to retain its competitiveness, adding that authorities were keen to bring back events and activities to the city
“We know exactly where we should be heading and want to be consistent as we move in that direction. We would like to have an orderly opening-up…because we don’t want to have chaos or confusion in the process,” he told reporters.
The changes could be announced this week, local media reported.
Hong Kong requires travelers from abroad to quarantine upon arrival although the length of quarantine has eased over time. Currently, arrivals must pay for three days in a hotel and follow that with four days of self-monitoring.
As part of its efforts to get business back to a more normal footing, Hong Kong is planning to host a major finance conference and the international Rugby Sevens in November.
Lee said the HKSAR government will actively support the planning of large-scale events and international conferences, and will have direct and open discussions with organizers to get such events off the ground.
The 25th Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon, which was initially canceled last week, was rescheduled to Feb 12, the Hong Kong Association of Athletics Affiliates said Tuesday.
Lee said the government is also contacting the organizer of the Dragon Boat Racing Championships 2023 to see if there was room for adjustment after it was announced that the event would instead be held in Thailand.
Hong Kong saw its number of new COVID-19 cases drop for the third consecutive day on Monday to 6,260.
With Agencies inputs