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Hong Kong will resume to lift ban on international flights from nine countries in April
The Arab News reported, citing the AFP, Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam said Monday that the country will resume international flights from nine countries including the United States and Britain in April.
After the highly transmissible omicron variant emerged in January, authorities quickly put in place flight bans from eight countries deemed high-risk — including the United States, Britain, France and India — and in February added a ninth, Nepal.
But infections climbed rapidly within the finance hub despite tightening social distancing measures, and in three months Hong Kong recorded more than a million cases and 5,600 deaths.
She said during a press conference: “The circuit-breaker ... is inopportune now."
“The epidemic situations in those countries are not worse than Hong Kong’s, and most arrivals did not have serious symptoms. To extend the circuit-breaker will add to concerns and anxieties of Hong Kong residents stranded there.”
Lam’s administration has been pummeled for its handling of the COVID-19 crisis, for putting out unclear messages about proposed mass testing and lockdown measures.
Fear of being caught in a sudden lockdown fueled panic — causing residents to strip supermarket shelves bare — and led to a record high exodus of both foreign and local residents.
Hong Kong suspends transit flights from most of the world due to COVID-19
By mid-March, Hong Kong recorded a net outflow of more than 134,000 people leaving the city.
Source: arabnews
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