The Hong Kong government recently announced that it will convert hotels into community isolation facilities (CIFs) to accommodate asymptomatic and mildly symptomatic Covid-19 patients. So far, 20,000 hotel rooms have been secured for the CIF hotel programme. However, the slated hotels are designated quarantine hotels, meaning travellers quarantining there have been moved.
The first hotel to be used in this capacity, starting February 18, is the Dorsett Tsuen Wan. The other confirmed hotels include the iclub Ma Tau Wai Hotel, iclub Fortress Hill Hotel and the Regal Oriental Hotel, which are undergoing conversion into CIFs.
Because these hotels are on the 6th and 7th cycle lists of designated quarantine hotels (ending on February 28 and running from March 1 to July 31, respectively), international travellers who are currently completing 14-day quarantines in these hotels have received notices stating that they will be moved to different hotels.
On February 16, new CIF hotels issued notices to quarantine guests that they would be moved to the Regal Airport Hotel by February 17. Two such notices from iclub Fortress Hill Hotel and the Regal Oriental Hotel were also uploaded on social media by hotel guests.
The conversion of hotels into isolation units comes as Hong Kong reports over 6,000 new Covid-19 cases a day over the weekend, stretching government quarantine facilities to capacity.
Header image credits: Can Pac Swire via Flickr
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