Hong Kong extended the quarantine period for all travelers arriving from outside China by one week to 21 days, Reuters reported Thursday.
The heightened efforts come as officials try to reduce the spread of a new variant of the coronavirus discovered in the UK that may be more transmissible than the original strain.
“Given the drastic change in the global pandemic situation with the new virus variant being found in more countries, it is imperative that the government takes immediate and decisive action … to ensure that no case slips through the net, even in very exceptional cases. where the incubation period of the virus is longer than 14 days, ”a spokesman for the Hong Kong government said in a statement, Reuters said.
In addition to the extended quarantine period, which starts on Friday, Hong Kong also prohibits all people who have stayed in South Africa in the past 21 days from boarding to Hong Kong, according to Reuters.
Hong Kong had already banned all flights from the United Kingdom.
The US is also taking more measures to prevent the spread of the new variant of the corona virus. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said late Thursday that of all air passengers coming from the UK, the US must pass a negative coronavirus test before boarding.