HONG KONG will soon feel the negative effects of tougher Covid quarantine curbs on air crew, with cargo traffic and the supply of goods into the city set to drop, warned Chief Executive Carrie Lam, Reuters reports.
hong Kong's first transmission of the latest omicron variant was detected at the end of last year after three months of zero infections in the territory, prompting authorities to tighten quarantine measures on air crew and reintroduce restrictions on social life.
Authorities said more than 40 local cases had been discovered traced back to two Cathay Pacific Airways air crew who broke self-isolation restrictions.
The tighter rules prompted Cathay to cancel most of its planned passenger and cargo flights in January. Cathay will operate about 20 per cent of its pre-pandemic cargo capacity and around two per cent of its pre-pandemic passenger flight capacity this month.
Ms Lam, speaking at the opening session of the Asian financial hub's new 'patriots-only' legislature, said Hong Kong already had the strictest measures against imported coronavirus infections and it was difficult to tighten them further.
'The consequences of these cargo policies will be seen very soon,' she told legislators. 'We almost have no goods entering via cargo flight.'
'Destroying this industry will not only affect the flight companies, it will affect every citizen.'
She said she expected some goods to be unavailable or their price to go up, with food, electronics and medicine among the worst affected.
Returning air crew now need to quarantine for seven days in a hotel, having earlier been asked to isolate at home for three days. Most other residents returning to Hong Kong have to quarantine for 21 days in a designated hotel at their own cost.
SeaNews Turkey
hong Kong's first transmission of the latest omicron variant was detected at the end of last year after three months of zero infections in the territory, prompting authorities to tighten quarantine measures on air crew and reintroduce restrictions on social life.
Authorities said more than 40 local cases had been discovered traced back to two Cathay Pacific Airways air crew who broke self-isolation restrictions.
The tighter rules prompted Cathay to cancel most of its planned passenger and cargo flights in January. Cathay will operate about 20 per cent of its pre-pandemic cargo capacity and around two per cent of its pre-pandemic passenger flight capacity this month.
Ms Lam, speaking at the opening session of the Asian financial hub's new 'patriots-only' legislature, said Hong Kong already had the strictest measures against imported coronavirus infections and it was difficult to tighten them further.
'The consequences of these cargo policies will be seen very soon,' she told legislators. 'We almost have no goods entering via cargo flight.'
'Destroying this industry will not only affect the flight companies, it will affect every citizen.'
She said she expected some goods to be unavailable or their price to go up, with food, electronics and medicine among the worst affected.
Returning air crew now need to quarantine for seven days in a hotel, having earlier been asked to isolate at home for three days. Most other residents returning to Hong Kong have to quarantine for 21 days in a designated hotel at their own cost.
SeaNews Turkey
