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FILE – Medical employees carrying protecting gear transfer an aged affected person from an ambulance to a hospital in Hong Kong, Friday, March 4, 2022.
Hong Kong’s chief Monday mentioned that the town would carry flight bans on international locations together with Britain and the US, in addition to cut back quarantine time for vacationers arriving within the metropolis as coronavirus infections in its newest outbreak plateaus. The town’s chief govt Carrie Lam introduced throughout a press convention Monday {that a} ban on flights from 9 international locations — Australia, Canada, France, India, Nepal, Pakistan, the Philippines, Britain, and the US — could be lifted from April 1. A flight ban on most of those international locations has been in place since January, as authorities sought to stem the outbreak of the extremely transmissible omicron variant in Hong Kong.
Vacationers getting into the town also can quarantine for as little as seven days in quarantine motels — down from 14 days — in the event that they check adverse for the virus on the sixth and seventh days of their quarantine. Such vacationers should even be absolutely vaccinated and check adverse for the coronavirus earlier than getting into the town. Lam additionally mentioned that plans for a city-wide mass-testing train, which was first introduced in February, could be suspended.
“The consultants are of the opinion that it isn’t acceptable for us to commit finite sources to the common mass-testing,” mentioned Lam. “The SAR authorities will proceed to watch the scenario. When the situations are proper, we are going to think about whether or not we can be implementing the obligatory common testing.”
The adjustments introduced Monday sign a shift in Hong Kong’s dealing with of the coronavirus pandemic, as authorities sought to offer a path for Hong Kong companies and its residents after two years of aligning with mainland China’s “zero COVID” coverage. Lam mentioned the adjustments come as a part of an interim evaluation of the town’s measures, and that numerous stakeholders within the metropolis can be consulted for any longer-term roadmaps in the case of public well being and financial growth.
“We’ve got to hear extra rigorously to the consultants, each regionally and from the mainland,” mentioned Lam. “For any longer-term public well being technique, we must consider each components which are sustaining Hong Kong’s accessibility to the mainland, and likewise guaranteeing her continued connectivity with the skin world.”
On Monday, Lam additionally introduced that social distancing measures will keep in place, though they are going to be lifted in levels from April 21 if infections don’t surge, Lam mentioned. A ban on eating in after 6 pm can be lifted, and public gatherings can be capped at 4 individuals, up from two. Different companies that have been ordered to shutter briefly, resembling gyms and therapeutic massage parlors, may even be allowed to reopen.
Hong Kong reported 14,145 infections on Sunday, the bottom in over three weeks. On the peak of its outbreak, the town reported over 50,000 circumstances each day and has reported over 1 million infections and practically 5,700 deaths because the present outbreak started on the finish of final yr.
Additionally Learn: After two years, Worldwide flight providers to renew from March 27
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