Government invokes place-specific flight suspension mechanism for Indonesia and suspends passenger flights from there
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Under the existing place-specific flight suspension mechanism, if among all passenger flights from the same place, regardless of the airline, a total of five or more passengers were confirmed positive by arrival tests for COVID-19 with the N501Y mutant strain or relevant virus mutation within a seven-day period, or a total of 10 or more passengers were confirmed positive by any tests (including tests conducted during quarantine) with the N501Y mutant strain or relevant virus mutation within a seven-day period, the Government will invoke the Prevention and Control of Disease (Regulation of Cross-boundary Conveyances and Travellers) Regulation (Cap. 599H) to prohibit all passenger flights from that place from landing in Hong Kong, and will specify that relevant place as an extremely high-risk Group A1 specified place under Cap. 599H to restrict persons who have stayed in that place for more than two hours from boarding passenger flights for Hong Kong, so as to stop persons from the relevant place from travelling to Hong Kong via transit.
As the number of imported cases from Indonesia has reached the above threshold, the Government will invoke the place-specific flight suspension for Indonesia and specify Indonesia as a Group A1 specified place on June 25.
Considering the epidemic situation in India, Nepal, Pakistan, and the Philippines, the place-specific flight suspension for these places will remain in place.
The Government will gazette the relevant updated specifications under the Prevention and Control of Disease (Regulation of Cross-boundary Conveyances and Travellers) Regulation (Cap. 599H) to effect the above measures on June 25.
"The Government will continue to closely monitor the epidemic situation of various places, the prevalence of new virus variants, vaccination progress, and changes in the volume of cross-boundary passenger traffic, and will adjust the boarding and compulsory quarantine requirements for persons arriving at Hong Kong from relevant places as the situation warrants," a Government spokesman said.
Details on the grouping of specified places and their respective boarding and compulsory quarantine requirements can be found at www.coronavirus.gov.hk/eng/high-risk-places.html.
Ends/Wednesday, June 23, 2021
Issued at HKT 19:28
Issued at HKT 19:28
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