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Hong Kong decided to increase, from this Friday, the mandatory quarantine period from 14 to 21 days in hotels designated for people arriving from outside China, a measure already imposed by Macau since Monday.
The reason, the authorities justified, is that new, more contagious strains of the new coronavirus are emerging.
Experts have suggested that the incubation period can, in fact, exceed 14 days in some cases. As a result, people arriving from outside of China will have to go through a three-week quarantine, compared to the previous two weeks.
Hong Kong also decided to ban people who traveled to South Africa in the previous three weeks from entering the country.
A new variant of the new coronavirus has been detected in South Africa and is believed to be spreading faster than older strains. Several countries have taken steps to restrict the arrival of people from South Africa.
Hong Kong also announced on Tuesday the suspension of flights from the United Kingdom due to the discovery of another new strain of coronavirus.
Health officials have warned that two students returning from Britain may have contracted the new strain.
On Monday, Macao had already announced on Monday the increase of the mandatory quarantine period from 14 to 21 days.
Overall, the measure excludes people arriving in Macau from mainland China and Taiwan and includes those from the UK and neighboring Chinese special administrative region, Hong Kong, said Dr Lo Iek Long of Health Services at a conference on press.
Macao has not registered a case in about six months, having been one of the first territories affected by the pandemic in late January. In total, it identified only 46 infections and no local outbreaks.
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