Hong Kong’s borders have been closed for more than a year and its quarantine rules – which require it Compulsory hotel accommodation Up to three weeks – among the strictest in the world.
However, corporate executives are now eligible for special treatment.
The city’s Securities and Futures Commission quietly published a Notice On Friday, they said that fully vaccinated “senior executives” from local companies or their international subsidiaries could apply for an exemption to skip quarantine when they visit or return to Hong Kong. He did not issue a press release, and the notice did not provide any explanation or justification for the timing of the action.
Neither the Securities and Futures Commission nor Hong Kong’s Ministry of Health responded to requests for comment on Saturday.
China reported no new cases on Friday. Despite the population density, it has managed to avoid a complete lockdown and has kept the number of coronavirus cases low through strict social distancing rules and forced quarantines in government facilities for close contact with Covid-19 patients, among other measures. Even travelers who are vaccinated should quarantine in hotels for one to two weeks, depending on where they are traveling from.
The quarantine waiver announced Friday is not the first for Hong Kong corporate executives; Was similar Released last year For local corporate executives who have returned to the territories from the Chinese mainland. But it also illustrates how Hong Kong’s coronavirus policies, Which has one of the largest income inequality gaps in the world, It does not apply equally to all of its 7.5 million inhabitants.
Their officials Imposing lockdowns and mass testing After Covid-19 clusters are discovered in the favelas, many residents live in overcrowded housing with defective pipes and poor ventilation. Critics accused the government of letting conditions worsen the outbreak, then imposing harsh measures on a group less able to tolerate it.
The government has also repeatedly accused the nearly 370,000 migrant domestic workers living in the city of violating social distancing restrictions, despite massive outbreaks around groups of expatriates and wealthy locals.
In early May, the government backed away from a controversial position This would require the vaccination of all migrant domestic workers. But it continued with a plan to subject them to a second round of compulsory tests for the Corona virus, although the first round showed only three positive among 340,000 people.
The government said mandatory testing protocols rely only on “risk assessment” and apply equally to anyone working in high-risk settings, including nursing homes.
In other news around the world:
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Malaysia Today, Saturday, 9,020 new cases of Coronavirus have reached, which is the fifth consecutive day that record new infections have been recorded in the country, according to Reuters. On Friday, Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin announced that a nationwide lockdown for two weeks would begin in June to fight the recent increase.
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Saudi Arabia Today, Saturday, the Saudi Press Agency announced the lifting of the ban imposed on travelers from 11 countries. Starting Sunday, visitors will be allowed entry from the United Arab Emirates, Germany, the United States, Ireland, Italy, Portugal, the United Kingdom, Sweden, Switzerland, France and Japan.
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Announced Kate, Duchess of Cambridge and wife of Prince William On Twitter She received her first dose of Coronavirus vaccine at the Science Museum in London. “I am very grateful to everyone who plays the startup – thank you for everything you do,” she wrote. to me Government portal, More than 39 million people in United kingdom You have received at least one dose of the Covid vaccine.
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Taiwan It reported 486 new domestic coronavirus cases on Saturday, according to Reuters. The number includes 166 cases that were added to recent days’ totals as an adjustment in infection numbers after a delay in reporting positive tests.
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