The Hong Kong government will lift its ban on Friday on flights from the United Kingdom and Ireland, citing a "stabilising local epidemic situation and the relatively satisfactory vaccination rate in the UK and Ireland."
Flights from the British Isles have been banned since December, following the detection of the more contagious UK variant of Covid-19. Inbound passengers from the UK and Ireland will still face "the most stringent compulsory quarantine and testing arrangements" upon arrival in Hong Kong, which includes negative tests before departure and upon arrival followed by a 21-day stay in a designated quarantine hotel, with at least three tests during that period, and a final test 26 days after arrival.
Hong Kong continues to restrict arriving passengers who recently have stayed in what it deems "extremely high-risk" places, including India, Brazil, South Africa, Pakistan, the Philippines and Nepal.