Nepal Flights Banned As Virus Concerns Grow

"); jQuery("#212 h3").html("

Related News Programmes

"); });

2021-04-30 HKT 09:17

Share this story

facebook

  • Flights from Nepal will not be allowed to land in Hong Kong. File image: Shutterstock

    Flights from Nepal will not be allowed to land in Hong Kong. File image: Shutterstock

Hong Kong has banned all flights from Nepal and barred travellers who've been to the country within the past two weeks from entering the SAR as concern continues over mutated strains of Covid-19.

Officials announced late on Thursday that, from Saturday, Nepal would be added to a list of extremely high-risk countries, with flights banned for at least two weeks.

A ban on flights from India, Pakistan and the Philippines, which was introduced on April 14, will also be extended.

The bans were introduced under the government's flight suspension mechanism, which takes effect if five or more passengers from any place test positive on arrival for the N501Y mutant strain within seven days.

"As a more targeted measure in stopping the importation of the virus into Hong Kong at the source, the tightened flight suspension mechanism is an essential measure in protecting Hong Kong's public health," a government spokesman said.

The suspensions will be reviewed every two weeks and will not be lifted automatically, the administration said.

A further criteria has been introduced which will allow for the suspension of flights if ten passengers from the same place test positive at any time within seven days, including in quarantine.

Separately, officials have ordered anyone who arrived on a flight from Manila to Hong Kong on April 14 who is exempt from quarantine to undergo virus tests by the end of Friday.

Two cases of the N501Y mutant strain have been found in passengers on Cathay Pacific flight 906.

RECENT NEWS

StartmeupHK Festival And Hong Kong Fintech Week 2025 Merge For 10th Anniversary Milestone

Invest Hong Kong (InvestHK) announced on 10 March 2025 that both of its flagship events, Hong Kong Fintech Week 2025 an... Read more

Ant AI-Powered Health Insurance Processes 7.25M Claims In 2024, 55%YoY Increase

In 2024, Ant Insurance, the online insurance brokerage platform of Ant Group, processed 7.25 million health claims, mar... Read more

Ping An Talent Uses AI For Job Matching, But Can Technology Make Recruitment Fairer?

Ping An Insurance (Group) Company of China, Ltd. has launched its 2025 Spring Campus Recruitment, offering over 2,000 p... Read more

HKEX Partners With CMU OmniClear To Boost Post-Trade Securities Infrastructure

Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited (HKEX) announced on 4 March 2025 that it signed a Memorandum of Understanding ... Read more

PAObank Secures Insurance Agency Licence, Partners With Ping An And FWD Hong Kong

PAO Bank Limited (PAObank) has received its Insurance Agency Licence from the Insurance Authority and signed strategic ... Read more

IFAST Launches Self-Service Accounts For Hong Kong Family Offices

Fintech solutions provider iFAST HK launches self-service accounts in Hong Kong, catering to the growing demand for ind... Read more