Associated Press: Hong Kong to lift flight bans, cut quarantine for arrivals

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HONG KONG (AP) — Hong Kong’s leader Monday said that the city would lift flight bans on countries including Britain and the U.S., as well as reduce quarantine time for travelers arriving in the city as coronavirus infections in its latest outbreak plateau.

The city’s chief executive Carrie Lam announced during a press conference Monday that a ban on flights from nine countries — Australia, Canada, France, India, Nepal, Pakistan, the Philippines, Britain and the U.S. — would be lifted from April 1. A flight ban on most these countries has been in place since January, as authorities sought to stem the outbreak of the highly transmissible omicron variant in Hong Kong.

© Provided by Associated PressFILE-A woman walks through the airport in Hong Kong, Friday, Feb. 18, 2022. Hong Kong’s leader Carrie Lam on Monday, March 21, 2022, said that the city would lift flight bans on countries including Britain and the U.S., as well as reduce quarantine for travelers arriving in the city as coronavirus infections in its latest outbreak plateaus. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung, File)

Travelers entering the city can also quarantine for as little as seven days in quarantine hotels — down from 14 days — if they test negative for the virus on the sixth and seventh days of their quarantine. Such travelers must also be fully vaccinated and test negative for the coronavirus before entering the city.

© Provided by Associated PressHong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam listens to a reporter’s question during a news conference in Hong Kong, Monday, March 21, 2022. (AP Photo/Vincent Yu, Pool)

Lam also said that plans for a citywide mass-testing exercise, which was first announced in February, would be suspended.