A worker sanitizes the entrance of a quarantine hotel in Hong Kong’s Central’s district on Feb 6, 2022. (BERTHA WANG / AFP)
The isolation period for people infected with COVID-19 and their close contacts will be cut to five days starting Friday, the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government announced Thursday.
The existing social-distancing measures and mask mandate in public places will remain in place until Dec 28.
The Shenzhen government announced it will double the quota of quarantine hotel rooms for Hong Kong travelers to 2,000 per day
Under the new arrangement, those who are infected and their close contacts still need to do daily rapid antigen tests for five days.
READ MORE: Hong Kong needs to ease quarantine restrictions further
Currently, they are required to be isolated for seven days, if they have received two or more vaccine jabs. The unvaccinated or those who had only one dose must remain in isolation for two weeks.
Also on Thursday, authorities on the Chinese mainland announced 10 new COVID-19 measures to better balance anti-pandemic requirements and economic development demands. Afterwards, the Shenzhen government announced it will double the quota of quarantine hotel rooms for Hong Kong travelers to 2,000 per day, starting Friday.
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At present, Hong Kong residents entering the mainland must undergo hotel isolation for five days, followed by three days of home quarantine.