UK Travel Ban Difficult But Necessary: Carrie Lam

Carrie Lam has defended what she called the "difficult" but necessary decision to ban people from flying to Hong Kong from the UK, in order to prevent the spread of a more contagious variant of coronavirus.

The chief executive's comments come after a group of Hong Kong residents stuck in Britain issued an open letter on Saturday calling on the SAR government to ease the travel ban.

Speaking before the weekly Executive Council meeting, Lam said the restrictions have to be “watertight” otherwise Hong Kong will be at risk.

Lam said the coronavirus situation globally is severe and many other places have also suspended flights from the UK.

"We do have a lot of returnees from the United Kingdom accounting for about one-third of arrivals at Hong Kong international airport. If we did nothing, you imagine, it would be putting our city at great risk," she said.

"So we have to take this measure, which was very difficult, because it involves Hong Kong residents, and many of them are students or parents who have gone to visit the students and they need to come back."

Lam said the Immigration Department has so far received about 190 requests for assistance, and that the government will look into the situation to see if any adjustments can be made.

The travel ban on UK arrivals was issued last month following the discovery of a more contagious mutation of the new coronavirus that has been spreading rapidly in the UK.

Under the ban, those who have stayed for more than two hours in the UK in the past 14 days, including Hong Kong residents, are barred from arriving in Hong Kong until further notice.