Location: Hong Kong
Event: As of July 23, 2021, the Hong Kong Government (HKG) has reported several imported COVID-19 variant cases from the United States in recent days. The HKG’s current policy is that it may re-categorize a country as a “Group A” location, based on the number of COVID-19 variant cases that come from that country within a seven-day or 14-day period. The HKG moved the UK to “Group A” on this basis in late June.
Group A is the highest of the Hong Kong government’s four risk categories. Group A is further divided into the A1 (indicating the highest level of risk) and A2 subcategories. If the United States is moved to the A2 group, there will not be an automatic ban on direct flights. If the United States is moved to the A1 group, there may be an automatic ban on direct flights for at least two weeks. If the United States is moved to Group A1 or A2, below are the current rules, as of July 19, for persons traveling from Group A countries. We will update the U.S. citizen community in Hong Kong if the United States is moved to Group A.
- Group A1: No traveler is permitted to enter Hong Kong until they have spent at least 21 days outside of a Group A1 country.
- Group A2: Hong Kong residents arriving from the United States will be allowed to enter Hong Kong, and must quarantine in a designated quarantine hotel for 21 days.
- All arriving passengers are still subject to COVID-19 testing at the airport upon arrival in Hong Kong.
In addition to being aware of the travel risks described above, travelers should also be aware of the following additional risks if traveling from the United States:
- Sudden flight changes and cancellations are possible, even if there is no ban on direct flights from the United States to Hong Kong.
- There have been cases of vaccinated travelers testing positive upon arrival in Hong Kong. If a traveler tests positive for COVID-19 upon returning to Hong Kong (or has a re-positive test result in cases of individuals who have recovered from a previous infection), the preliminary positive test result will cause local health officials to initiate protocols to hospitalize and test the affected individual and quarantine their close contacts for between seven and 21 days.
- If you return to Hong Kong after less than 21 days abroad and then test positive for COVID-19 upon arrival, local health officials may implement testing, contact tracing, and quarantine protocols for the places you visited and your close contacts in Hong Kong within the past 21 days.
Assistance:
- U.S. Consulate General Hong Kong and Macau
+852 2841-2211
+852 2523-9011 (after hours)
ACSHK@state.gov - State Department – Consular Affairs
888-407-4747 or 202-501-4444 - Hong Kong Travel Information
- Macau Travel Information
- Enroll in the Smart Traveler Enrollment Program (STEP) to receive alerts
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