The Hong Kong government announced the list of the eighth cycle of Designated Quarantine Hotels (DQHs) that overseas travellers must spend their mandatory isolation period at after they arrive in the city. The cycle—which runs from August 1 till October 31, 2022—will provide inbound passengers from anywhere except Mainland China and Macau approximately 23,000 rooms across 62 hotels.

No new hotels but more rooms

The list for the eighth cycle features most of the DQHs that are on the current seventh cycle of DQHs, which ends on July 31. However, Hotel Alexandra, Grand City Hotel and Novotel Century will cease to be quarantine hotels and Novotel Citygate has been transformed to a Community Isolation Hotel since March 1. It now accommodates international passengers who test positive for Covid-19 upon arrival into Hong Kong or during hotel quarantine. There are no new hotels in the eighth DQH cycle.

Authorities said that more hotels may be added to the new list if they pass inspections conducted by the government to assess whether their “design, facilities and workflow” meet infection control requirements. The current seventh cycle of designated quarantine hotels includes around 23,000 hotels across 64 hotels.

Current rules to enter Hong Kong

Under the city’s current border restrictions, Hong Kong residents and non-residents may enter the SAR as long as they are fully vaccinated, test negative on a PCR test within 48 hours before they depart for the city, and have a booking at a DQH for a minimum of seven days and a maximum of 14 days.

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While at their quarantine hotels, travellers must undergo daily rapid antigen tests (RATs) and PCR tests on Days 5 and 12 after their arrival into Hong Kong. If they wish to leave their DQH on Day 7, they must test negative for Covid-19 on their Day 5 PCR and Day 6 and 7 RATs. If they choose to stay for 14 days, they must test negative for the virus on their Day 12 PCR and Day 14 RAT.

Hong Kong introduced its compulsory hotel quarantine requirement for international travellers in December 2020. At the time, passengers had to isolate for a maximum of 21 days at a DQH, one of the longest quarantine periods in the world.

Image header credits: Harguaobimgwo TAMGIU via Wiki Commons

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From the Middle East to the Far East and a couple of places in between, Anjali has lived in no fewer than seven cities in Asia, and has travelled extensively in the region. She worked as a lifestyle journalist in India before coming to Hong Kong, where her favourite thing to do is island-hopping with her daughter. You can check out her musings on motherhood, courtesy her Instagram profile.

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