HONG KONG, Dec. 10 (Xinhua) -- The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) government decided on Thursday to list Ukraine as a very high-risk place starting from Dec. 17 in view of the COVID-19 pandemic situation.
The HKSAR government has earlier imposed testing and quarantine conditions on travelers coming to Hong Kong from very high-risk places to reduce the health risk they may bring to Hong Kong.
In drawing up the list of very high-risk places, the government would take into account considerations such as the number of COVID-19 cases imported to Hong Kong from the areas concerned, and the epidemic situation and measures adopted in the relevant places.
The Secretary for Food and Health (SFH) has previously published specifications on the relevant measures applicable to 18 specified places including Bangladesh, Belgium, Russia, Britain and the United States, and adjusted the relevant conditions having regard to the circumstances on the ground.
Taking into account the latest public health risk assessment, and the changes and developments of the epidemic situation, the SFH will include Ukraine in the list of a specified place.
According to the latest specifications, a traveller who, on the day on which the traveller boarded a civil aviation aircraft that arrives at, or is about to arrive at, Hong Kong, or during the 14 days before that day, has stayed in one of the very high-risk places must provide multiple documents including a negative COVID-19 nucleic acid test report within 72 hours.
A spokesman for the Food and Health Bureau said the global pandemic situation is becoming increasingly severe. The daily number of new cases increased from around 70,000 to 100,000 between late March and mid-May, and further increased to reach a new height of around 460,000 to 700,000 since early November.
"In view of the severe global pandemic situation, Hong Kong cannot afford to drop its guard on entry prevention and control measures," the spokesman said. Enditem