Hong Kong scraps quarantine order for Covid positive patients

Chief executive John Lee Ka-chiu announced on Thursday that Hong Kong will scrap its quarantine mandate for Covid positive patients starting from January 30. 

The move will see those who test positive through PCR tests and rapid antigen tests no longer be required to undergo quarantine at community isolation facilities or at home. 

Speaking at the Legco this morning, the Hong Kong leader said the city has achieved strong hybrid immunity three years into the Covid pandemic, whereas the risks brought by Covid have been significantly lowered with improvements made to the healthcare system. 

He said authorities have not observed any abnormalities 10 days after reopening the borders to the mainland, and that the daily Covid tally has been dropping from the peak of 30,000 cases per day to around 3,000 cases per day. 

Lee said authorities must adopt a new approach with its epidemic control measures, moving on from mandating Covid rules while treating Covid as an upper respiratory tract infection.