Health experts suggested authorities to make adjustments accordingly, banning returnees from high-risk areas when necessary, given the new highly transmissible Covid strain from the UK may have been exported to other European countries. Infectious diseases expert Joseph Tsang Kay-yan said in a radio program this morning that the quarantine period for returnees from Europe should be extended to 21 days, as the new Covid strain may have already been spread to other European countries like Belgium or Denmark. HKU microbiologist Ho Pak-leung also agrees with the need to extend the quarantine period, but he said the current measures are confusing for people arriving in the city. He believed that Hong Kong is capable of providing enough hotel rooms for quarantine use. “If those who finished their hotel quarantine were tested positive during their home quarantine, it will bring a lot more work for tracking down the close contacts of the infected, putting communities at risk,” Leung added.

Source: The Standard December 22, 2020 04:07 UTC