Hong Kong has extended its quarantine period for all travelers arriving from outside China for a week to 21 days, Reuters reported on Thursday.
The increased efforts come as authorities seek to mitigate the spread of a new variant of coronavirus detected in the UK, which may be more transmissible than the initial strain.
“Observing the drastic change in the global pandemic situation with the new variant of the virus found in more countries, it is necessary for the government to introduce resolute measures immediately … to ensure that no case will escape the network, even in very exceptional cases where the period incubation period is more than 14 days, ”a Hong Kong government spokesman said in a statement, according to Reuters.
Along with the extended quarantine period, which is expected to take effect on Friday, Hong Kong is also banning the boarding of all people who have remained in South Africa for the past 21 days to Hong Kong, according to Reuters.
Hong Kong had previously banned all flights from the United Kingdom.
The United States is also taking increasingly intense steps to mitigate the spread of the new coronavirus variant. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said late on Thursday that the United States will require all airline passengers arriving from the UK to provide a negative coronavirus test before boarding their flights.