HK extends quarantine for arrivals from mainland

Travellers from China, Macau and Taiwan will have to go through the 14-day quarantine until July 7.

Hong Kong.- Hong Kong will extend its mandatory quarantine for all inbound travellers coming from mainland China, Macau and Taiwan.

The Macao SAR and Taiwan measures were set to expire on June 7, but will be extended for another month until to July 7.

Travellers arriving from Macau, Taiwan or anywhere in China will continue to have to see through a compulsory 14-day quarantine, which could impact casinos’ plans to quickly recover ground lost during lockdown.

At a press conference, the Secretary for Food and Health Sophia Chan announced the extension, saying the local government was considering relaxing restrictions on arrivals in a bid to exchange economic activities.

But the measures had been extended because of new Covid-19 cases identified in recent days. Chan Siu-chee said: “It is expected that there may be sporadic infection cases or even small outbreaks in the community.”

As for arrivals from further afield, Hong Kong will extend its mandatory quarantine until Sept 18.

Travel restrictions have had a huge impact on the casino business. Visitor arrivals in Macau totaled just 11,041 in April, down 99.7 per cent on April 2019.

While some Macau casinos remain open with reduced capacities and operations, the new extension of the quarantine measures throws doubt on the arrangement that officials in Guangdong, Hong Kong, and Macau had prepared to allow residents to move freely.