The Government announced today (January 31) that from February 5, the COVID-19 nucleic acid testing arrangements for persons arriving at Hong Kong from the Mainland and Macao will be adjusted. The compulsory quarantine period for inbound travellers from Taiwan will also be adjusted to 14 days in designated quarantine hotels (DQHs), followed by a seven-day self-monitoring period.

Testing arrangements for persons arriving at Hong Kong who have stayed in the Mainland and Macao
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     From February 5, for persons who arrive at Hong Kong on or after January 18 and have only stayed in the Mainland or Macao on the day of arrival at Hong Kong or during the 14 days before that day, regardless of whether they are arriving via land boundary control points or the airport, the corresponding compulsory testing arrangements will be adjusted to three tests to be conducted on the third, fifth and 12th days of their arrival at Hong Kong. Among these, the test on the 12th day must be conducted in a community testing centre (CTC). This arrangement is applicable to persons who arrive at Hong Kong under the Return2hk Scheme and the Come2hk Scheme and are thus exempted from compulsory quarantine, persons who have been fully vaccinated and are subject to compulsory quarantine for seven days, and persons who are not yet vaccinated and are subject to compulsory quarantine for 14 days. As a transitional arrangement, if a relevant person who arrived at Hong Kong between January 18 and January 25 has undergone compulsory testing in a CTC on the 12th or 16th day of arrival at Hong Kong, he or she would be considered to have fulfilled the compulsory testing requirements.

     Currently, all persons arriving at Hong Kong under the Return2hk or Come2hk Schemes are required to obtain a negative test result by undergoing a test on the day of arrival at Hong Kong or within three days before that day. Meanwhile, persons who have stayed in places in the Mainland other than Guangdong Province or Macao are required to present at the boarding of a flight for Hong Kong negative result proof of a nucleic acid test for COVID-19 which is conducted on the day of or within three days prior to the scheduled time of departure. All persons arriving at Hong Kong via the airport are also subject to the "test-and-hold" arrangement, and can only leave upon confirmation of a negative test result.

     The day of a person's arrival at Hong Kong is counted as the first day. For example, for a person who arrives at Hong Kong on February 5, he or she shall undergo the third-day test on February 7, the fifth-day test on February 9, and the 12th-day test on February 16.

     The Government will verify whether the relevant persons had complied with the compulsory testing notice. Any person who fails to comply with the testing notice commits an offence and may be fined a fixed penalty of $5,000. The person will also be issued with a compulsory testing order requiring him or her to undergo testing within a specified time frame. Failure to comply with the order is an offence and the offender will be liable to a fine at level 4 ($25,000) and imprisonment for six months.

Quarantine arrangements for persons arriving at Hong Kong who have stayed in Taiwan
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     From February 5, Hong Kong residents who have stayed in Taiwan in the past 14 days will be subject to compulsory quarantine in DQHs for 14 days, with six tests to be conducted during quarantine, followed by self-monitoring for seven days. They are required to undergo compulsory testing on the 16th and 19th days of arrival at Hong Kong, with the 19th-day test to be conducted in a CTC.

     For non-Hong Kong residents travelling to Hong Kong from Taiwan, only those who are fully vaccinated (see note) will be allowed to board a flight to Hong Kong, and they will be subject to the same quarantine and testing arrangements as Hong Kong residents. Those non-Hong Kong residents who are not fully vaccinated will not be allowed to enter Hong Kong.
 
     For persons who arrived at Hong Kong from Taiwan before February 5 and are required to undergo the 15th to 21st days of quarantine in DQHs on or after February 5 as per the original quarantine orders (i.e. inbound travellers from Taiwan who arrive at Hong Kong between January 16 and February 4), the Department of Health will arrange for them to undergo relevant testing in batches in an orderly manner before the completion of quarantine. If they obtain a negative test result and have completed at least 14 days of quarantine, they will be arranged to leave the DQHs in turn. Upon departure from the DQHs, the relevant persons will need to self-monitor from the 15th to 21st days of arrival at Hong Kong, and undergo compulsory testing on the 16th and 19th days of arrival at Hong Kong.

     The above adjusted compulsory quarantine and testing arrangement is in line with the arrangement applicable to inbound travellers from overseas, as announced by the Government earlier.

     The Government will gazette the relevant updated specifications under the Compulsory Quarantine of Certain Persons Arriving at Hong Kong Regulation (Cap. 599C), the Prevention and Control of Disease (Regulation of Cross-boundary Conveyances and Travellers) Regulation (Cap. 599H) and the Prevention and Control of Disease (Compulsory Testing for Certain Persons) Regulation (Cap. 599J) to effect the above measures from 0.00am on February 5.

Note: Relevant persons who are fully vaccinated and hold a recognised vaccination record, as well as children under 12 years old accompanied by them, can board for Hong Kong. In addition, persons who (i) are unfit for vaccination due to health reasons with relevant proof from a medical practitioner or (ii) have received one dose of a recognised COVID-19 vaccine and hold a recognised vaccination record, if they were certified by a medical practitioner that they were unfit to receive the second dose of a COVID-19 vaccine because of health reasons after receiving the first dose of the vaccine, are exceptionally allowed to board for Hong Kong.

Ends/Monday, January 31, 2022
Issued at HKT 20:40

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