By Maggie Gile
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Hong Kong will begin banning any passenger who has been in the U.K. for more than two hours from flying into the territory on Thursday in order to help prevent the spread of new variants of the coronavirus, the Associated Press reported.
On Monday, officials in Hong Kong declared the U.K. an "extremely high risk" due to its "recent rebound of the epidemic situation in the U.K. and the widespread delta variant virus strain there." It is the second time that the Hong Kong government has banned flights from the U.K., following a restriction imposed last December.
Meanwhile, Hong Kong also planned on loosening restrictions from other countries such as the U.S. and Canada.
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For more reporting from the Associated Press, see below.
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The ban comes amid heightened tensions between the U.K. and China over semi-autonomous Hong Kong, which was a British colony until it was handed over to China in 1997.
The U.K. has criticized China for imposing a national security law on Hong Kong and tightening control over its media, saying Beijing is undermining the city's autonomy.
The flight ban was triggered by a policy put in place by the government to prevent coronavirus variants from spreading in Hong Kong.
A suspension of passenger flights is imposed if five or more passengers arriving from one place test positive on arrival for a particular coronavirus variant, or a relevant virus mutation within a seven-day period.
A ban is also triggered if 10 or more passengers from one place are confirmed to be infected with the coronavirus via any tests, including tests conducted during quarantine, within a seven-day period.
The U.K. reported 14,876 people tested positive for the coronavirus on Sunday, as it saw a recent surge in infections. It has confirmed over 4 million cases since the pandemic began.
Hong Kong, which for months imposed a 21-day quarantine for arrivals from most countries and implemented strict social-distancing regulations, reported three new cases of the coronavirus on Monday. It has confirmed a total of 11,921 cases since the pandemic began.
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