Hong Kong's epidemic prevention policy is expected to be further relaxed!
According to Caixin.com , as the local epidemic situation shows a downward trend, Hong Kong is actively considering canceling the "3+4" before November to become "0+7", that is, canceling the hotel quarantine period for overseas inbound people, which only takes 7 days of home medical monitoring.
screenshot from Caixin.com. The copyright belongs to the original author
During the home medical monitoring period, inbound passengers can go out, but cannot enter restaurants, gyms, bars, beauty salons, etc. where they need to actively present a "vaccine pass", nor can they participate in mask removal activities.
However, under the premise that the daily antigen test is negative, quarantine personnel can take transportation, go to work, enter shopping malls, supermarkets and other places during the medical monitoring period. When the "3+4" was implemented before
, inbound passengers can return to the mainland by land or by air after completing 3 days of hotel quarantine.
If the rule becomes "0+7", does it mean that inbound passengers can go directly to the mainland as soon as they arrive in Hong Kong? This will not be known until the rules are introduced.
Arriving at Hong Kong Airport waiting for passengers to be sent to quarantine hotels. The picture source is South China Morning Post . The copyright belongs to the original author
The recent trend of the epidemic in Hong Kong has been stable. As of September 18, Hong Kong has added 7,322 new confirmed cases of new crown , including 7,190 local cases, and the number of new cases in August was tens of thousands.
Among them, the Mid-Autumn Festival holiday did not rebound significantly, and stabilized within 9,000 cases.
Hong Kong government expert consultant and professor of CUHK breath science, Xu Shuchang, pointed out that the number of confirmed cases in Hong Kong is currently about 8,000 in a single day, and there is a downward trend. I believe that the number of confirmed cases will be lower than 4 digits in the future. Whether an outbreak will occur again in winter depends on whether there are new variants of viruses.
Xu Shuchang, picture source online, copyright belongs to the original author
Xu Shuchang also believes that the Hong Kong government may consider canceling the provisions for nucleic acid testing before boarding. Because some overseas countries are relatively large, it is not easy to require passengers to undergo nucleic acid testing 48 hours before boarding the plane.
People who have arrived in Hong Kong will undergo another nucleic acid test after getting off the plane. 40% of confirmed patients were found out on the 3rd day after arriving in Hong Kong. In addition, most people entering the country have received two doses of vaccines, and the risk is relatively low.
In mid-month, as the number of deaths in the world of COVID-19 decreased significantly, Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO) Tedros Adhanom Adhanom Adhanom Ghebreyesus said that the new crown epidemic is coming to an end. He said: "The situation of the world ending a global pandemic has never been so good. We have not been there yet, but the end is near."
On September 18, US President Biden announced that the global pandemic of the new crown epidemic has ended in the United States. However, Biden's remarks angered five Republicans and some public health leaders, who said it was too early to declare victory over the new crown, and this statement could also undermine the administration's efforts to obtain more anti-epidemic funds from Congress.
Picture source nytimes Copyright belongs to the original author
Some public health leaders said that it is irresponsible to announce the end of the epidemic. More than 1 million people in the United States have died from the new crown, and about 400 people still die from the new crown virus every day, and as many as 23 million Americans have long-term sequelae of the new crown.
Image source nytimes Copyright belongs to the original author
In the end, the Biden administration has to "put out the fire" for the president's remarks because of protesters. CNN said that the White House said that the government's anti-epidemic policy has not changed.
An official in the Biden administration pointed out that the authorities have no plans to lift the public health emergency implemented since January 2020. This state of emergency is currently continuing until October 13, 2022.
Image source nytimes Copyright belongs to the original author
On Monday, Dr. Fauci , director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, admitted that the situation has improved. However, he warned that new variants of the virus are still likely to appear, especially in the coming winter months.
Will the COVID-19 epidemic end? Will it be easier to return to the country? I don't know when I will see this answer...
