Today (August 8), at a 10:30 am press conference, Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee announced that for travelers arriving in Hong Kong from overseas and Taiwan, the quarantine rule will be changed to 3+4 (3 days of hotel quarantine and 4 days of home medical surveillance). The new rule will take effect on August 12. During the following 4 days at home, people may go out, but there are certain restrictions. If you do not have a fixed residence in Hong Kong, you may stay in a regular hotel during those 4 days.

The Hong Kong government said this policy change is based on data analysis showing that the share of people who test positive after the third day is less than 1%, so it believes moving to 3+4 is a reasonable way to balance pandemic control with easier entry.

Hong Kong Government News: Opening remarks by the Chief Executive at the "Pandemic Response Command and Coordination Group" press conference

Entry restrictions

Hong Kong had already reopened entry to non-Hong Kong residents earlier. Chinese passport holders can already enter visa-free for 7 days and then continue on to mainland China. This change only affects the quarantine requirements after arrival.

Boarding requirements

Previously, before boarding a flight to Hong Kong, airlines would check the PCR test report, vaccination proof, and quarantine hotel booking. Now, travelers can upload these boarding documents in advance through the health declaration system. After review is completed, the government will issue a green health declaration QR code. Once you have this green QR code, you do not need to present other documents to the airline in order to board, which avoids problems caused by differences in wording on the documents.

Arrival in Hong Kong

After arriving at Hong Kong International Airport, travelers show the health declaration QR code and receive a quarantine order. After clearing immigration, as before, they will be transported point-to-point to a designated quarantine hotel. Travelers may also choose to take a dedicated taxi to the hotel.

PCR tests are required on the day of arrival in Hong Kong (Day 0), and on Days 2, 4, 6, and 9. In addition, a rapid antigen test must be taken every day. If a person tests positive, they will be isolated under the same requirements and may not go out.

If all goes well (that is, they receive a negative PCR test result), they may leave the quarantine hotel at 9:00 am on Day 3 and go to their home or a regular hotel. At that point, the LeaveHomeSafe app will display an amber code. At that stage:

  • You may take public transportation, enter shopping malls, go to work, and visit wet markets
  • You may not enter: restaurants, bars, pubs, gyms, game centers, indoor public entertainment venues, party rooms, beauty salons, etc.
  • You may not enter places where masks are removed
  • Still unclear: we believe it may be possible to leave Hong Kong during the remaining 4 days, but this has not been finally confirmed

After 9:00 am on Day 7, if there are no irregularities in the PCR test results, the system will automatically switch to a blue code, and all restrictions will then be lifted. Anyone who tests positive along the way will be switched to a red code.

Mainland China to Hong Kong

For people without the Come2HK or Return2HK exemption, travel from mainland China to Hong Kong previously required 7 days of home quarantine with no going out allowed. This will be changed to 3 days of home quarantine plus 4 days of self-monitoring. During the monitoring period, there is no amber code, and people may go out freely without activity restrictions.

Outlook

In previous rounds, after Hong Kong relaxed inbound quarantine to 7 days, mainland China later followed with a 7+3 quarantine policy. Hopefully Hong Kong's trial and the data it produces can help mainland China adopt some of Hong Kong's experience and make returning to mainland China more convenient.