Uproar as Kidman gets quarantine exemption

Oscar winner Nicole Kidman has been allowed to skip quarantine to do a television series in Hong Kong, prompting an expert to call on authorities to strictly enforce regular tests and medical surveillance for the Australian actress.

Kidman, 54, was spotted filming in Western district, six days after she flew in on a private jet from Sydney for the Amazon series Expats, for which she is also an executive producer.

The actress was spotted out shopping in Central two days after her arrival.

The series is based on Hong Kong-born Korean-American Janice Lee's 2016 novel The Expatriates, about the lives of three privileged American women in the SAR.

The Commerce and Economic Development Bureau confirmed Kidman was exempted from compulsory quarantine yesterday, the same day Australia reported a daily nationwide figure of 754 cases, surpassing the previous single-day high of 738 on August 5 last year.

The government made the exemption decision because "it is conducive to maintaining the necessary operation and development of Hong Kong's economy."

The bureau added that Kidman must minimize contact with the public as well as observe a series of rules, including completion of vaccination and staying at a designated address.

She is required to undergo at least three Covid tests during the first 14 days after arrival, follow predetermined itineraries and only take point-to-point private transportation.

"The bureau has carried out and will conduct checks, verification and monitoring to ensure compliance. No breach of the exemption conditions by [Kidman] has been identified so far," the bureau said. But it refused to disclose more details about Kidman's case and said there was no information regarding whether crew members who came to Hong Kong with her were exempted from quarantine.

Kidman's exemption has triggered criticism online, with some web users slamming her for being "tone-deaf."

One added: "So we have HK residents who can't come back if not vaccinated and even then [go through two to three] weeks' quarantine, but Nicole Kidman can just come in like this? It's disgusting!"

Another said: "She wants to film a [series] about being an expat but can't even do the quarantine like an expat. The forums are filled with people desperate to see loved ones, visit critically ill family members, travel to save their jobs, yet because you're a movie star, no quarantine."

Kidman's husband, Australian singer Keith Urban, earlier said the actress got vaccinated in April in the United States. The couple live in Tennessee with their two daughters.

Without the exemption, she would have been quarantined for seven days.

It is understood that Kidman will be working here until the end of October and will go to various places to do scenes.

Infectious disease expert Ho Pak-leung said Kidman's case must be handled carefully as the highly contagious Delta variant is spreading across the world.

On a radio program, Ho said the government needs to consider which countries the crew members are from and whether they should also be exempted from quarantine.

"Exemption from compulsory quarantine is definitely dangerous," Ho said. "The exemption must be based on actual needs, which means arrivals could not finish their job if quarantine is in place."

He said the government must ensure that all anti-epidemic measures are carried out strictly.

"If something goes wrong again, the public will suffer," Ho said.

The government reclassified Australia from "low risk" to "medium risk" from today, meaning vaccinated arrivals will have their quarantine period doubled to 14 days.

wallis.wang@singtaonewscorp.com