Asia Today: Hong Kong lengthens quarantines for 16 countries

HONG KONG – Hong Kong volition tighten introduction restrictions for travelers arriving from the United States and 15 different countries opening Friday, extending the quarantine play to 21 days.

Previously, the 15 countries, which besides see Malaysia, Thailand, France and the Netherlands, were classified arsenic medium-risk, with travelers capable to service lone 7 days of quarantine if they were afloat vaccinated and tested affirmative for antibodies anterior to leaving for the city.

A resurgence of coronavirus cases successful these countries owed to the delta variant led the to beryllium recategorized arsenic precocious high-risk and stricter measures imposed, arsenic the authorities sought to “uphold the section obstruction against the importation of COVID-19,” it said successful a statement.

The changes travel aft a home idiosyncratic who had returned to Hong Kong from the U.S. earlier this period tested affirmative for the coronavirus, contempt receiving 2 shots of vaccine and investigating affirmative for antibodies.

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Also Friday, the mandatory quarantine play was extended from 7 to 14 days for fully-vaccinated travelers with a affirmative antibody trial arriving from Australia, present categorized arsenic medium-risk. Quarantine requirements for New Zealand, which is the lone state considered low-risk, stay astatine 7 days for fully-vaccinated passengers.

Hong Kong’s “zero-Covid” strategy has seen authorities enforce strict borderline restrictions and prohibition flights from highly high-risk countries, successful the hopes that nary section assemblage dispersed would let it to re-open borders with mainland China.

The metropolis had astir 2 months of nary cases wrong the section community, but its streak was breached earlier this period erstwhile a 43-year-old operation idiosyncratic with nary question past was recovered to person antibodies successful his humor contempt not being vaccinated – indicating that helium was astir apt infected immoderate clip ago.

Hong Kong has recorded a full of 12,037 coronavirus infections since the pandemic began, with 212 deaths.

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In different developments successful the Asia-Pacific region:

— Australia’s astir populous authorities connected Tuesday reported its third-highest fig of regular infections of the pandemic, but the authorities person said the dispersed of the delta variant successful Sydney, the country's largest city, had not yet peaked. There were 452 caller infections recorded successful New South Wales, down from 475 connected Monday and 466 connected Saturday. An unvaccinated pistillate aged successful her 70s had died successful a Sydney infirmary connected Monday, bringing the decease toll from the outbreak discovered successful mid-June to 53. New South Wales Premier Gladys Berejiklian said she expected regular infections counts to stay high. “We are assuming that lawsuit numbers volition spell up. Now, I accidental that lone arsenic a realist due to the fact that erstwhile you person cumulative days of precocious lawsuit numbers, determination is simply a tipping constituent wherever lawsuit numbers spell up,” Berejiklian said. “But our situation is to marque definite that we support vaccination rates up,” she added. About fractional of New South Wales’s colonisation has had astatine slightest 1 injection of the two-shot Pfizer oregon AstraZeneca vaccine. The authorities wants 80% of the colonisation afloat vaccinated earlier it eases Sydney’s lockdown, which began connected June 26.

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— New Zealand has detected its archetypal assemblage lawsuit of the coronavirus successful months, triggering urgent meetings among apical lawmakers. Health officials accidental the affirmative lawsuit was recovered successful Auckland connected Tuesday day and has nary known nexus to the border. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern is owed to little the federation wrong a fewer hours. She had promised a pugnacious approach, including imaginable lockdowns, for immoderate outbreaks of the delta variant arsenic New Zealand continues to prosecute a zero-tolerance attack toward the virus. The past assemblage outbreak was successful February and New Zealand has reported conscionable 26 microorganism deaths among little than 3,000 cases since the pandemic began.

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