Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor talks to the media on Tuesday before an Executive Council meeting, during which she announced government plan to improve tighter border control. (PARKER ZHENG / CHINA DAILY)
The government on Tuesday issued a Red Outbound Travel Alert to more countries, which will require arrivals who have been to Italy or visited certain regions of France, Germany, Spain and Japan in the last 14 days to be quarantined — beginning Saturday.
Local leaders believe these new measures can effectively stop imported cases. They said restrictions on certain regions of these countries are based on the assessment that medical systems there are reliable and reflect the real situation.
The public should be aware of potential health risks before traveling overseas
the Department of Health
The new arrangement covers Bourgogne-Franche-Comte and Grand Est of France, North Rhine-Westphalia of Germany, Spain’s La Rioja, Madrid and Pais Vasco, and Hokkaido of Japan.
It will also apply to the whole country of Italy — to replace the existing three areas of Emilia-Romagna, Lombardy and Veneto in the country.
All arrivals who have been to these places in the past 14 days will stay in quarantine facilities for 14 days, the Department of Health said in a statement.
The same quarantine measures announced earlier for people who have been to South Korea and Iran in the past 14 days remain unchanged.
The health authority again advised the public to consider delaying all non-essential travel outside Hong Kong, as the transmission of the novel coronavirus has been increasing around the world.
It also noted that a number of COVID-19 cases in Hong Kong recently are related to a tour group to India, indicating the possibility of community transmission there.
The public should be aware of potential health risks before traveling overseas, the authority stressed.
A spokesman for the Centre for Health Protection said that the government will review and adjust these measures according to new developments.
Executive Councilor Lam Ching-choi noted that the affected countries use mature quarantine systems that can ensure the number of patients revealed reflects the actual situation there.
The doctor added that for arrivals from less-developed countries, such as India, the government should consider issuing travel alerts for the whole country at once.
Legislator Elizabeth Quat Pui-fan said these new measures were vital for Hong Kong to stop imported cases. She said the government had followed expert advice when making the decisions.
Gu Mengyan contributed to this story.
