Hong Kong not to lift travel bans until outbreak eases, says the government

The Hong Kong government has announced that it won't be lifting COVID-19 ban until the outbreak in the region eases domestically. Chief Executive Carrie Lam at a briefing made the important announcement while the city struggles to contain surging infections. As of now, Hong Kong hasn’t lifted its flight ban from nine countries including the US, UK and Australia.

Lam said, “It's not the time to immediately lift the ban”.
She further said that a number of people will rush to come back when the reopening takes place. "Inevitably among some of those people there will be infected cases. There may even be critically ill cases arising from the returns, and that would add a lot of pressure to our public hospital system."

Now Hong Kong is planning to do a mass testing and only then will think of opening. As soon as the fifth wave is under control, the government will have plans or a pathway to open up Hong Kong again for our own people and for international travel," she said.
On Thursday, health authorities in Hong Kong stated that the daily COVID-19 caseload peaked earlier this month, and the city confirmed around 31000 new cases. The latest outbreak has claimed a number of lives, mostly among unvaccinated elderly residents.