In hopes to boost its tourist economy and attract travelers, Hong Kong has decided to do away with most of its Covid restrictions. This marks a major shift after nearly three years of strict Covid measures for tourists.
International tourists no longer have to hold a Vaccine Pass nor have to do mandatory on-arrival testing.
Due to being a Special Administrative Region of China, it has relative autonomous power and as such kept strict lockdown and curfew rules during the pandemic.
John Lee, the leader of Hong Kong, made such announcements ahead of the New Year looking forward to 2023 in hopes to regain its international status and align with other global financial hubs in Asia.
Hong Kong is following China which just weeks ago reopened its economy and ended the cycle of lockdowns in urban centers and its quarantine policy.
Despite the recent spike of cases on the mainland, Hong Kong has loosened its leash on restrictions.
Starting Dec 29, these measures apply to tourists arriving in Hong Kong:
- No Vaccine Pass
- No more Covid testing on-arrival
- No isolation for close contacts of infected individuals
- No post-arrival quarantine
- No more mandatory testing between days 0 and 5
Travelers can revel in the fact that they do not need to show a Provisional Vaccine Pass upon arrival and go several RAT tests for the first five days of their stay. And if tourists received a positive result in that five-day window, they were forced to quarantine until a negative test result.
Lee also confirmed that vaccination status will no longer being an official requirement for entry into Hong Kong.
The only measure in hand is a pre-departure test per The U.S. Consulate for Hong Kong. This means a PCR within 48 hours of arriving or a Rapid Antigen 24 hours ahead of boarding.
