Home Quarantine Option Removed For Most Arrivals

The government on Wednesday announced tighter coronavirus restrictions for anyone flying into Hong Kong.

From Friday, arrivals from all places other than the mainland will have to undergo 14 days of quarantine in a hotel, rather than a residential property.

Currently, this rule only applies to people coming from 15 'high-risk' countries.

People will be able to choose their own hotel and will need to pay for it themselves.

Health Secretary Sophia Chan says the requirement is needed to prevent returnees from infecting others during a quarantine period at home.

"I worry about the global situation whereby over 50 million people now being confirmed and all the very severe situation and that's why we're tightening our border control measures," she said.

Meanwhile, to encourage local residents to get tested for Covid-19, four coronavirus testing centres commissioned by the government will start operating from Sunday.

They are located in Quarry Bay, Yau Ma Tei, Sha Tin and Yuen Long.

Chan also said that authorities have almost finished drafting the legal framework for making coronavirus testing mandatory for certain groups of people. She said details will be announced when the legal work is complete.