Non-Hong Kong residents will be allowed to enter Hong Kong from overseas regions beginning at 12 a.m. on May 1st, and the circuit breaker flight suspension mechanism for particular aircraft routes will be altered, according to the Hong Kong S.A.R. government.
Arriving passengers will be given a rapid antigen test (RAT) while they wait for the results (“test and hold”) at Hong Kong International Airport. Those who tested negative during RAT will be quarantined and await the results of their nucleic acid tests.
Non-Hong Kong residents can enter Hong Kong from abroad beginning May 1st, with the same quarantine requirements as Hong Kong residents, namely, they must spend the first seven days in quarantine at specified hotels.
The circuit breaker flight suspension mechanism will only be activated if at least 5 passengers are tested positive for COVID-19, not 3 passengers or 5% of all passengers on the entire aircraft. The applicable no-fly period will also be decreased from 7 days to 5 days. At the same time, if three or more passengers are diagnosed with COVID-19, and there are passengers who violate the epidemic prevention regulations’ conditions of entry to Hong Kong, the relevant airline’s flights will be deemed to be in violation of the regulations, and the affected flight will be suspended for five days.
