Updated information on Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) and vaccines (8 Apr 2021)

Updated information on Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) and vaccines


1. Arrangements for designated flights from United Kingdom to Hong Kong and quarantine arrangements for arrivals from low-risk places
The Government has put in place since late December last year the measure under the Prevention and Control of Disease (Regulation of Cross-boundary Conveyances and Travellers) Regulation (Cap. 599H) to restrict persons who had stayed in extremely high-risk Group A specified places from boarding flights for Hong Kong.   The Government will specify that passengers of designated flights will not be subject to the restriction on boarding for Hong Kong and will arrange for these returnees to undergo the 21-day compulsory quarantine in a specified quarantine facility.

The designated flights will be the CX2252 flights departing London in the UK on April 21 and April 28 at 9.10am. The airline will open the ticketing reservation system on April 8 at 4 pm (Hong Kong Time). Upon check-in for the designated flights, travellers will be required to present negative result proof of a reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) nucleic acid test for COVID-19, conducted within 72 hours before the scheduled time of departure of the aircraft. Results of tests conducted using other techniques will not be accepted. In addition, the travellers must present the confirmation of their room reservation in the specified quarantine facility mentioned above for 21 nights after their arrival in Hong Kong.

Travellers arriving on the designated flights will all be required to undergo compulsory quarantine at the centrally managed specified quarantine facility (Rambler Garden Hotel in Tsing Yi) for 21 days. The relevant persons under quarantine will be tested again on the 7th, 12th and 19th days during quarantine.

Relevant FAQs: https://www.coronavirus.gov.hk/pdf/FAQ_UK_Returnees_ENG.pdf

The global epidemic situation remains severe with new virus variants ravaging many parts of the world. The appropriate adjustments to the entry restrictions and quarantine arrangements will be conducive to the gradual resumption of travel between Hong Kong and other overseas places. In the meantime, the Government will continue various measures to stringently guard against the importation of cases.

The compulsory quarantine period for persons arriving at Hong Kong on or after April 9, and who have only stayed in Australia, New Zealand or Singapore on the day of arrival in Hong Kong or during the 21 days before that day, will be shortened to 14 days, while they will be required to self-monitor for the subsequent seven days and be subject compulsory testing on the 19th day after their arrival at Hong Kong. The relevant persons will still be required to undergo compulsory quarantine in designated quarantine hotels. This arrangement will be applicable to both Hong Kong residents and non-Hong Kong residents.

Details on the grouping of specified places and their respective boarding and compulsory quarantine requirements can be found at:

www.coronavirus.gov.hk/eng/high-risk-places.html

https://www.info.gov.hk/gia/general/202104/01/P2021040100696.htm

2. Government announces investigation results regarding packaging defects of BioNTech vaccine and arrangements for resumption of vaccination service

According to the information provided by Fosun Industrial Co., Limited (Fosun) and German drug manufacturer BioNTech, BioNTech has completed the relevant investigation and analysis regarding defects found in a small number of vial caps in a batch of vaccines supplied to the Hong Kong and Macao regions.  It is confirmed that the occurrence of the said problem is only associated with vaccine packaging under transport conditions. The production process and quality of the vaccine are found to be intact. The drug manufacturer confirmed that the safety and efficacy of the vaccine were not affected by the aforesaid issue, hence members of the public who had received the BioNTech vaccine did not need to worry. That said, for the sake of prudence, batches 210102 and 210104 will continue to be put on hold at the request of the drug manufacturer until completion of the final investigation report. The Government is also prepared to follow the recommendation of the drug manufacturer to suitably handle the relevant batches at a later time, including no longer administering the relevant batches of the BioNTech vaccine.

The shipment of about 300 000 doses of the Comirnaty vaccine manufactured by BioNTech, filled and finished at another plant in Germany, arrived in Hong Kong on April 2 as arranged by Fosun Pharma.

The Government has resumed the administration of the Comirnaty vaccine for members of the public starting from 5 April.  For changes to the vaccination slot or centre, please cancel the timeslot from the online booking system first and then make another reservation.

For details, please refer to:

https://www.info.gov.hk/gia/general/202104/01/P2021040100848.htm

https://www.covidvaccine.gov.hk/en/


Please visit the Thematic Website (https://www.coronavirus.gov.hk/eng/index.html) regularly for further information and updates.   We would like to solicit your support to disseminate the information to your service users so that they could adopt proper preventive measures. Thank you very much for your support.


 
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