Coronavirus: Hong Kong toughens border controls over heavily mutated new variant, covering 8 African countries

Non-Hong Kong residents barred from entering the city from Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Mozambique, Malawi, Namibia and Zimbabwe; city residents must undergo three weeks of quarantine

Emergence of new strain in southern Africa – known as B.1.1.529 – has triggered worldwide concern over its potential for evading immune responses

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European and Asian countries have started suspending arrivals from countries such as Africa following the emergence of a new Covid-19 variant.
Photo: AFP

Published: 10:45pm, 26 Nov 2021Updated: 11:00pm, 26 Nov 2021

Hong Kong on Friday joined a growing list of jurisdictions imposing tough travel and border controls on southern African countries, amid global concern over the emergence of a new coronavirus variant already found in the city.

Health officials have barred non-Hong Kong residents from entering the city from Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Mozambique, Malawi, Namibia and Zimbabwe, taking effect at midnight. Fully vaccinated city residents can still arrive from those countries but will have to quarantine for three weeks.

Previously classified in the medium-risk Group B category for Covid-19, the nations join South Africa and 24 other Group A places deemed to pose the greatest threat to Hong Kong.

That high-risk categorisation requires Hong Kong residents to quarantine in a designated hotel for 21 days on arrival in the city. Non-residents in high-risk countries are not permitted to travel to Hong Kong.

Announcing the changes late on Friday, a Hong Kong government spokesman said: “Although scientists are not fully certain of its potential effects on the epidemic situation or whether the relevant mutations would affect the efficacies of vaccines, we have to stay vigilant.”

The new variant – known as B.1.1.529 – has so far mostly been detected in South Africa, while a handful of cases have also emerged in Botswana, where it was first discovered.

Two cases were found in Hong Kong, both in travellers undergoing hotel quarantine.