By The SUN
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| Transit and departing passengers will no longer be subject to temperature checks |
Hong Kong stopped its
practice of conducting temperature screening on departing or transit passengers
at the airport starting Saturday, Sept. 10.
A statement released by the government late on Friday said that this was due to the gradual lifting of Covid-19 prevention and control requirements in overseas places.
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| PINDUTIN PARA SA DETALYE |
However, the temperature checks on people entering Hong Kong as well as passengers leaving for the Mainland of Macau, will remain in place.
The move followed an advice from the United States’ Consulate on its citizens to avoid transiting in Hong Kong “due to the risk of being denied boarding, removed from the airport, and sent to a Hong Kong government managed facility if local authorities determine you are exhibiting symptoms of Covid while in transit.”
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The advisory said there had been instances when transiting passengers were not allowed to board their flights and forcibly taken to a government isolation facility after being found to have an elevated temperature.
But the government said the temperature screening was in line with the World Health Organization’s advice issued in February 2020 in a bid to identify symptomatic persons early.
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| PINDUTIN PARA SA DETALYE |
"Symptomatic persons should avoid travelling, so that they would not put themselves and others at risk,” said the statement.
At the same time, the government announced that locally based air crew will be allowed to skip quarantine if they test negative on their arrival at the airport. However, they will still be subject to regular testing after entering the community.
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These air crew will also be required to continue to comply with the closed-loop arrangements during their layover in overseas places or Taiwan.
Airlines that fail to make their crew conform to these rules will have their eligibility to the quarantine exemptions revoked.
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| Press for details |
Meanwhile, the Covid caseload dropped slightly on Saturday to 9,787 - which included 185 imported cases.
The in-patient tally remained around the 2,700 level, among whom 16 are in intensive care.
Eight more Covid patients have died, with the youngest a 21-year-old man who was chronically ill.
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| BASAHIN ANG DETALYE |
Dr Chuang Shuk-kwan of the Centre for Health Protection again urged the public to refrain from joining family gatherings during the Mid-Autumn Festival, saying they do not want to see another surge in infections because of this.
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| PADALA NA! |
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