Local Situation Dashboard Latest News News Videos What is COVID-19 Clarifications Useful Information

Updates on Infection Situation Health Tips Resource Centre Community Involvement

Tamar Talk news.gov.hk FB ISD YouTube news.gov.hk CHP FB CHP YouTube HA FB HA YouTube

िह ी| नेपा ली| ‫ |اردو‬ไทย| Bahasa Indonesia| Tagalog| ංහල භාෂාව| বাংলা ভাষা| Tiếng Việt

Text Size Search keyword(s)

Speci ed conditions imposed on inbound travellers who have

visited speci ed places (Cap.599H)

Travellers who visited any very high-risk specified

place
Under Prevention and Control of Disease (Regulation of Cross-boundary Conveyances
and Travellers) Regulation (Cap.599H), an inbound traveller who, on the day on which the
traveller boarded a civil aviation aircraft that arrives at, or is about to arrive at Hong Kong
(specified aircraft), or during the 14 days before that day, has stayed in any very high-risk
specified place (i.e. Bangladesh, Belgium, Ethiopia, France, India, Indonesia,
Kazakhstan, Nepal, Pakistan, the Philippines, Russia, South Africa, Turkey (from 13
Nov 2020), the United Kingdom and the United States of America), must provide the
following documents:
 1. A test report in English or Chinese issued by a laboratory or healthcare
institution bearing the name of the relevant traveller identical to that in his or her
valid travel document to show that:
a. the relevant traveller underwent a nucleic acid test for COVID-19, the
sample for which was taken from the relevant traveller within 72 hours
before the scheduled time of departure of the specified aircraft;
b. the test conducted on the sample is a nucleic acid test for COVID-19; and
c. the result of the test is the relevant traveller was tested negative for
COVID-19; and
2. If the relevant report is not in English or Chinese or does not contain all of the
above information, a written confirmation in English or Chinese issued by the
laboratory or healthcare institution bearing the name of the relevant traveller
identical to that in his or her valid travel document and setting out all of the
above information. The said written confirmation should be presented together
with the test report; and
3. Documentary proof in English or Chinese to show that the laboratory or
healthcare institution is ISO 15189 accredited or is recognised or approved by
the relevant authority of the government of the place in which the laboratory or
healthcare institution is located; and
4. The relevant traveller has confirmation in English or Chinese of room reservation
in a hotel in Hong Kong for not less than 14 days starting on the day of the
arrival of the relevant traveller in Hong Kong.

Travellers who visited any country outside China (excluding very high-risk places specified above)
(Effective on 13 November 2020)

A traveller who, on the day on which the traveller boarded a specified aircraft, or during the 14 days before that day, has stayed in a
specified place outside China (excluding very high-risk places specified otherwise), must provide confirmation in English or
Chinese of room reservation in a hotel in Hong Kong for not less than 14 days starting on the day of the arrival in Hong Kong of the
relevant traveller from the rest of the world. The relevant specifications will come into effect on November 13 and remain until
further notice.

The operator of the specified aircraft should submit to the Department of Health (DH) before the specified aircraft arrives at Hong Kong a
document in a form specified by the DH confirming that each relevant traveller has, before being checked-in for the flight to Hong Kong
on that aircraft, produced for boarding on the aircraft the documentary proof to show that the above conditions are met (template). The
above-mentioned inbound travellers who fail to produce the relevant specified documents will be refused to board the flight.

A person who is in transit in Hong Kong, and a person exempted by the Chief Secretary for Administration from compulsory quarantine
under section 4(1) of either the Compulsory Quarantine of Certain Persons Arriving at Hong Kong Regulation (Cap. 599C) or
Compulsory Quarantine of Persons Arriving at Hong Kong from Foreign Places Regulation (Cap. 599E) will not be affected.

If any conditions specified by the Secretary for Food and Health is not met in relation to any relevant traveller on the conveyance, each
of the operators of the conveyance commits an offence, and is liable on conviction to the maximum penalty of a fine at level 5 ($50,000)
and imprisonment for six months. If an operator fails to comply with a requirement to provide information, or knowingly or recklessly
provides any information that is false or misleading in a material particular, he or she is liable on conviction to the maximum penalty of a
fine at level 5 ($50,000) and imprisonment for six months.

As for travellers, if a traveller coming to Hong Kong fails to comply with a requirement to provide information, or knowingly or recklessly
provides any information that is false or misleading in a material particular, he or she is liable on conviction to the maximum penalty of a
fine at level 3 ($10,000) and imprisonment for six months.

Travellers to Hong Kong should note that even they have conducted a COVID-19 nucleic acid test before returning to Hong Kong, for
prudence sake, they will still be mandated to have their deep throat saliva samples collected for conducting testing for COVID-19 at the
DH's Temporary Specimen Collection Centre and wait for their test results at a designated location pursuant to the Prevention and
Control of Disease Ordinance (Cap. 599).

If their test results are negative, they will be allowed to go to the hotel for which they made the reservation to continue the 14-day
compulsory quarantine until completion. If their results are positive, the travellers will be transferred to hospital for isolation and
treatment. Close contacts of confirmed cases will be sent to quarantine centre. Travellers have to bear their own cost for cancellation of
hotel reservation or other relevant charges as a consequence of the positive test result.

The DH will issue quarantine orders to these returnees. The relevant government department will also arrange electronic wristbands for
them. According to quarantine orders, they shall neither leave their hotel rooms nor move around in the hotel during the entire
quarantine period. Leaving designated rooms will be regarded as a breach of the quarantine order and constitutes a criminal offence.
Offenders are subject to a maximum imprisonment for six months and fine of $25,000.

Frequently Asked Questions

Transit
1. The nucleic acid test for COVID-19 should be done within 72 hours before the scheduled time of departure of the
specified aircraft. How would the 72 hours be counted if a traveller will transit somewhere before arrival in Hong Kong?
One of the requirements of Cap. 599H is that “the relevant traveller underwent a nucleic acid test for COVID-19 the sample for
which was taken from the relevant traveller within 72 hours before the scheduled time of departure of the specified aircraft”.
“Specified aircraft” means a civil aviation aircraft that arrives at, or is about to arrive at Hong Kong (i.e. the aircraft which is directly
landing Hong Kong). Therefore, if a traveller transits somewhere and then fly to Hong Kong, the 72 hours will be counted from the
scheduled time of the departure flight flying to Hong Kong.

In addition, if the nucleic acid test is done in other origins, time zone difference shall be taken into account concerning the
calculation of 72 hours and the time zone of the specified aircraft's departure port should be taken as the reference time zone.
Below is an example of a traveller flying to Hong Kong from Washington DC (EDT GMT -4) with transit at Seoul, South Korea
(GMT+9).

Example
Time/Date of sample taken for COVID-19 test: 4:00pm, 16 Sept (US local time).
The traveller takes a connecting flight from US to S. Korea and the scheduled time of departure of the second flight from S. Korea
to Hong Kong is 7:45pm on 19 Sept.

The 72-hour validity period shall be from 7:45pm, 16 Sept to 7:45pm, 19 Sept (S. Korea local time).

In the above example, the specified aircraft's departure port is at S. Korea, thus the relevant time should be converted to S.
Korea’s local time for calculation. The test is done in Washington DC: 4:00pm, 16 Sept (US local time) is equivalent to 5:00am, 17
Sept (S. Korea local time). Since the sample was taken at 5:00am, 17 Sept (S. Korea local time) which falls into the 72-hour
period, the test result shall be considered valid.

2. Will I be affected by this Regulation (Cap599H) if I just transit at the specified place with layover inside the airport
terminal without passing through the immigration control point (i.e. has not entered the specified place)? My flight origin
does not belong to any specified place.
According to the Regulation, only travellers satisfying all the following conditions during transit, will be regarded as NOT having
stayed in the specified place:
a person boarded, in a place, a conveyance that, after the person had boarded it, stopped in any other place that is a
specified place (stopover specified place); and
the person did not leave the conveyance in that stopover specified place; and
the person’s journey on that conveyance ended subsequently outside that stopover specified place.

Therefore, once the traveller leaves the aircraft of which the stopover is a specified place, the traveller will be regarded as having
stayed in that place, thus the traveller has to comply with the requirements specified in the textbox above.

Tests

3. What tests are accepted as a nucleic acid test for COVID-19?

Laboratories and healthcare institutions may use different terms which are equivalent to nucleic acid test.
The following are common acceptable terms for "nucleic acid test": "Polymerase chain reaction" ("PCR"), "reverse-transcription
polymerase chain reaction" ("RT-PCR"), "real time RT-PCR", "real-time PCR", "nucleic test", "qRT-PCR", "RT-qPCR", "nucleic acid
amplification test" ("NAAT"), "TrueNAT", "CBNAAT", "Loop-mediated isothermal amplification" ("LAMP"), "Molecular
diagnostics/test". Apart from "COVID-19", "SARS-CoV-2" is also an acceptable term for the virus.
 Antigen test (e.g. SARS Antigen FIA test) and Antibody test (e.g. IgG Antibody test) are NOT accepted.

4. Is there a list of recognised or approved laboratories or healthcare institutions of the countries concerned?
Please contact your local health authority to obtain the list of recognised or approved laboratories or healthcare institutions of the
particular country.

Hotels
5. The relevant traveller has to make a room reservation in a hotel in Hong Kong for not less than 14 days starting on the
day of the arrival of the relevant traveller in Hong Kong. Are other accommodations such as hostel acceptable?
No, hostels, guesthouses, Airbnb and service apartments are not acceptable. The relevant travellers are required to confirm with
the hotels that they will accept travellers from specified places (under Cap. 599H). Besides, the Department of Health will not
arrange any place of quarantine for travellers as it is the responsibility of travellers to arrange their place of quarantine.

6. Is it mandatory to make reservation at a hotel specified in the list on the website?

The hotel list (https://www.coronavirus.gov.hk/pdf/inbound/hotels_en.pdf) is for reference only. Accommodation at any hotel in
Hong Kong will be acceptable.

7. Can I share a hotel room with my family members or friends?

Yes. If you and your family members or friends are taking the same flight to Hong Kong, you can share a hotel room with them.

8. If I am arriving at Hong Kong in the night time, can I omit the hotel reservation for the first day?
No. The relevant traveller is required to provide documentary proof of a hotel room reservation in Hong Kong covering the day of
arrival, regardless his/her time of arrival, and the reservation should cover a continuous period for not less than 14 days.

9. If an inbound traveller arriving from specified places (Cap. 599H) is under 16 years old, can his/her family member or
caretaker share a hotel room together?
In general, hotels in Hong Kong only allow minors under 16 years old (18 years old for some hotels) to stay if they are
accompanied by an adult. Since these minors come from specified places the accompanied adult may be exposed to higher risk of
infection. As a preventive measure, it is recommended that the accompanied adult should stay together with the minor in hotel
room until the end of quarantine period without leaving for the purpose of quarantine in order to minimize the possible risk of
community transmission.

10. Do the family member or caretaker need to liaise with DH in advance on the practical arrangements for the minors to stay
in the hotels?
The relevant persons should directly contact and discuss with the hotels concerned in advance on the detailed accommodation
arrangements.

11. For those minors who are undergoing quarantine in hotel room, are their family members or caretakers be allowed to
change or enter the room during the quarantine period?
Since these minors come from specified places in order to minimize the possible risk of infection or community transmission, it is
recommended to arrange only one family member or caretaker to enter and stay with the minor in hotel room together until the end
of quarantine period. During this period, no other family member or caretaker should enter the concerned hotel room. Family
member or caretaker should not be changed during the period of quarantine.

12. Can an inbound traveller who have visited specified places (Cap. 599H)conduct quarantine at home?
Under Prevention and Control of Disease (Regulation of Cross-boundary Conveyances and Travellers) Regulation (Cap. 599H), a
relevant inbound traveller must provide a confirmation in Chinese or English of room reservation in a hotel in Hong Kong for not
less than 14 days starting on the day of the arrival of the relevant traveller in Hong Kong before boarding a flight to Hong Kong.
The inbound travellers concerned who fail to produce the relevant specified documents will be refused to board the flight.

Documents
13. For the documentary proof to show that the laboratory or healthcare institution is ISO 15189 accredited or is recognised
or approved by the relevant authority of the government, can it be replaced by other documents such as certificate of
accreditation?

For the documentary proof of ISO 15189 accreditation or recognition or approval by relevant authority of local government of the
laboratory or healthcare institution, it can be in the form a copy of "Certificate of Accreditation", "Certificate of Compliance", or
information printed out from the relevant authority's official website.

14. If the test report issued by the laboratory/healthcare institution already contains an ISO accreditation reference, do I need
to present another documentary proof to show that the laboratory or healthcare institution is ISO 15189 accredited or is
 recognised or approved by the relevant authority of the government?
Yes. A separate documentary proof is required even if the test report from the laboratory or healthcare institution contains an ISO
accreditation reference or indication of the government's recognition. In addition, the documentary proof should be issued by a
third party (e.g. the accreditation body or relevant authority of the government) NOT by the laboratory or healthcare institution
itself.

15. Can I send in the required documents for vetting before travelling back to Hong Kong?
No pre-arrival vetting of documents would be done for individuals who intend to enter Hong Kong. Relevant documents shall be
provided to the operator of the aircraft for checking before boarding. The operator of the specified aircraft should notify the
Department of Health before the specified aircraft arrives at Hong Kong confirming that each relevant traveller has, before being
checked-in for the flight to Hong Kong on that aircraft, produced for boarding on the aircraft the documentary proof to show that the
above conditions are met.

16. Are the required documents only accepted in the format of standard templates?
While acceptable documentary proof shall meet all the specified requirements, the format may vary.

17. Is it mandatory to have the name and identity card or passport number printed on the laboratory test report?
The test report in English or Chinese issued by a laboratory or healthcare institution must bear the name of the relevant traveller
identical to that in his/her valid travel document. Identity card or passport number is not mandatory on the test report.

18. If the name of the relevant traveller printed on the test report was not exactly the same as presented in his/her passport
(e.g. middle name missing on test report but present on passport), would the report be accepted?
If the name on the laboratory report is not identical to that on the Hong Kong Identity Card or travel document; OR if any one of
following requirements has not been met, “the test report in English or Chinese issued by a laboratory or healthcare institution
bearing the name of the relevant traveller identical to that in his/her valid travel document to show that:
a. the relevant traveller underwent a nucleic acid test for COVID-19, the sample for which was taken from the relevant traveller
within 72 hours before the scheduled time of departure of the specified aircraft;
b. the test conducted on the sample is a nucleic acid test for COVID-19; and
c. the result of the test is the relevant traveller was tested negative for COVID-19”
A written confirmation in English or Chinese issued by the laboratory or healthcare institution is required to be presented together
with the laboratory report. This written confirmation should contain the name of the relevant traveller identical to that in his/her valid
travel document, setting out all of the above information (a-c).

19. Do I need to present the original paper copy upon arrival at Hong Kong? Can I just present the documents on a mobile
device?
Documents in paper or electronic format are equally acceptable but you are highly recommended to print out the documents as
backup in case of running any technical problems when opening the files on the mobile device.

Other
20. Can inbound traveller who have visited visited specified places (Cap. 599H) apply for change of quarantine places from
hotel to home during their stay at hotels?
One of the requirements of the Regulation is that “the relevant traveller has confirmation in English or Chinese of room reservation
in a hotel in Hong Kong for not less than 14 days starting on the day of the arrival of the relevant traveller in Hong Kong”. The
relevant travellers who fail to produce the relevant specified documents will be refused to board the flight.
Persons put under compulsory quarantine are required to comply with the compulsory quarantine requirements. Unless with the
permission of an authorized officer, you shall confine yourself to the place of quarantine and are prohibited from leaving Hong
Kong.
In order to minimize the potential spread of COVID-19 from the confinee to the community, request to change the place of
quarantine from hotel to home will not be granted unless in very exceptional circumstances.
Consideration will only be given to a request on the basis of significant medical conditions, i.e. convincing medical justification, to
the satisfaction of the authorised officer, that home quarantine rather than hotel quarantine is essential for the health of the
confinee. Supporting document, including but not limited to, a recent report from a registered medical practitioner, is required for
the application. Each request will be assessed based on individual merits.
In assessing your request, consideration will be given to the public health risk; whether you are showing symptoms of COVID-19;
whether your medical justification to quarantine at home rather than at hotel is convincible; whether you are released into an

environment where a highly vulnerable person may be a close contact; whether other household members (who are not home
confinees) are willing to be quarantined with the you at home for the rest of the quarantine period in accordance with the
quarantine order, etc.
In addition, such application should only be submitted after confinees’ arrival in Hong Kong.

21. If a confinee is confirmed with COVID-19 and can be discharged from hospital after treatment within the quarantine
 period, does he/she need to continue the compulsory quarantine arrangement?
Yes, the confinee is required to complete the quarantine period in accordance with the quarantine order. However, the confinee
could choose to quarantine at home or at hotel as the public health risk is relatively low.

22. If my flight has been delayed or advanced unexpectedly, how to calculate the 72-hours pre-departure test result and the
14-day hotel reservation?
The specified requirements of “72 hours” and “14 days” refer to the “scheduled time of departure of the specified aircraft” and
“scheduled date of arrival at Hong Kong” respectively.

2020 © | Sitemap | Important Notices | Privacy Policy | Contact Us | Last revision date: 12 November 2020