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Entry Restrictions on Non-Hong Kong Residents Extended

The Hong Kong government today (6 April, 2020) extended, until further notice, the entry restrictions on non-Hong Kong residents arriving by plane.

All transit at Hong Kong International Airport will continue to be suspended until further notice.

The entry restrictions, which came into effect on the 25 March 2020, were announced by the Government on 23 March with the aim of reducing imported cases of the Wuhan virus know as COVID-19:

• All non-Hong Kong residents coming from overseas countries and regions by plane will be denied entry to Hong Kong;
• Non-Hong Kong residents coming from the Mainland, Macao and Taiwan will be denied entry to Hong Kong if they have been to any overseas countries and regions in the past 14 days;
• All transit services at Hong Kong International Airport will be suspended;
• All travellers coming from Macao and Taiwan, including Hong Kong and non-Hong Kong residents, will be subject to a 14-day compulsory quarantine, which is the same as the arrangements for people entering Hong Kong from the Mainland.

The entry restriction and suspension of transit services at the airport were at the time to be implemented tentatively for 14 days, ending on 7 April, 2020.

Exemptions to the above restrictions include:

• Crew members of aircraft who need to commute to and from foreign places in performance of necessary duties or crew members of goods vessels;
• Government officials carrying out government duties including personnel of consular posts;
• Personnel engaged in anti-epidemic work endorsed by the HKSAR Government;
• Spouses and minor children of Hong Kong residents.

All entrants to Hong Kong must complete 14-days compulsory quarantine on arrival.

Read the government press release https://t.co/WW8NKVLBqB?amp=1

More information can be found on the government’s dedicated website www.coronavirus.gov.hk

Red Outbound Travel Alert for Europe

The Hong Kong government today issued a Red Outbound Travel Alert (OTA) for 26 European countries. The alert warns against all non-essential travel to countries in the Shengen area, the part of Europe covered by an open-border travel arrangement.

“In view of the health risks arising from the outbreak of the COVID-19 in Europe, the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Government today (March 13) issued the Red Outbound Travel Alert (OTA) on certain European countries (Schengen Area), including Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Principality of Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovak Republic, Republic of Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, and Switzerland.”

The Red OTA urges members of the public planning to travel to the aforementioned countries to adjust travel plans and avoid non-essential travel.

After returning to Hong Kong travelers should consult a doctor promptly if experiencing a fever or other COVID-19 symptoms, and wear a surgical mask until 14 days after returning to Hong Kong.

More information can be found on the government’s dedicated website www.coronavirus.gov.hk

Police launch “e-Ticketing Pilot Scheme”

The Police announced a pilot e-Ticketing program today which digitalises the current hand-written process to enhance accuracy.

The “e-Ticketing Pilot Scheme” starts in Wanchai, Tseung Kwan O and Sham Shui Po police districts on 16 March, 2020 and will initially only apply to fixed penalty parking tickets.

Traffic wardens will use a mobile application to capture the data of offending vehicles, and print fixed penalty tickets with portable printers.

The accuracy of the new scheme will be enhanced with the addition of an encrypted QR code imprinted on vehicle licences to facilitate the extraction of a vehicle’s data.

No information was provided as to how the public’s privacy will be protected with a car owner’s personal information simply scannable from the vehicle licence whether they have committed an offence or not.

To issue a ticket, traffic wardens can scan the QR code or input the registration number manually to extract the particulars of the offending vehicle. The App will then imports information such as date, time and the issuing officer’s details whilst a GPS location is generated automatically.

The issuing officer can also take photos to capture details of the offence for evidential purposes before printing an e-ticket at scene.

It’s not mentioned how quickly the thermal printed paper will fade in the sun, or whether a physical or digital ticket will also be sent to the vehicle’s owner by post/email.

In digitalising the existing manual processes the intent is to reduce human error, eliminates the difference in handwriting interpretations and obviously generate more revenue.

One can only hope that in making the ticket issuing process quicker and easier that all offending vehicles will be targeted. Rather than the selective ignoring of many illegally parked vans and cars. An this might, just might reduce congestion caused by illegal parking.

Compulsory Quarantine For Inbound Travellers

The Department of Health announced that from 14 March compulsory quarantine orders, under the Prevention and Control of Disease Regulation (Cap. 599A), will be enforced against people arriving in Hong Kong who have been to Italy, France, Germany, Japan and Spain in the past 14 days, regardless of whether they are Hong Kong residents.

The new orders require people to stay in a Quarantine Centre for the duration of their quarantine.

More information can be found on the government’s dedicated website www.coronavirus.gov.hk