Amid Omicron scare, Hong Kong International Airport bans passengers from over 150 nations

Amid surging COVID-19 cases in Hong Kong, the administration has banned transit passenger flights from over 150 countries and territories on Friday. According to the latest notification issued by Hong Kong International Airport, the ban will be applicable for at least a month-- from January 16 to February 15. "Passengers who have stayed in over 150 places deemed high risk in the last 21 days, including the United States and Britain, will be banned from transiting in Hong Kong from January 16 to February 15," according to a notice posted by the airport. Notably, the latest notification came as the city is reeling under the Omicron variant following the negligence of two crew members.

According to local media reports, the two crew members reportedly broke isolation rules and dined at restaurants and bars in the city prior to getting tested positive. The report said the two crew members were responsible for the COVID outbreak in the city.  "Over 50 local infections have been reported in the community since the end of 2021," news agency AP quoted the health authorities. Further, the authorities asserted that the city went three months with no community transmissions and had been in talks with the mainland to resume quarantine-exempted travel with the rest of China. In the second week of January, the authorities also imposed a two-week ban on incoming flights from the United States, Canada, Australia, France, Britain, India, Pakistan and the Philippines.

Hong Kong has aligned itself with China's zero-tolerance COVID-19 policy

Apart from banning international flights, the city with a population of more than 75 lakhs has banned dining outside after 6 pm. It has banned other public places such as museums, cinemas, gyms and libraries. It is pertinent to mention here that the city has aligned itself with China's zero-tolerance COVID-19 policy. Recently, the local administration of Yuzhou, a city with a population of around 1.3 million and more than 1,400 sq km area was put under strict lockdown after three asymptomatic cases of COVID-19 emerged in the area. According to a report by the Chinese government mouthpiece, Global Times, the administration of China's Henan Province announced a complete lockdown on Monday night after three people tested positive for the highly-infectious virus.

With inputs from AP

Image: AP