brunos

Unfortunately I have no access to confidential government statistics, and would not report any non-public info anyway

But I am a daily reader of SCMP and Straits Tines (Singapore), which gives more detailed information for Singapore whose situation is not dissimilar from HK.
I also get some indirect info from my MD spouse, who is quite involved.
Like you, I would like to get more statistical info on cases that got positive while in quarantine after arrival.
I have passed the question to CHP, but have not received any reply yet.

Anyway here are my thoughts.
As you probably know, two good sources of information are:
https://www.chp.gov.hk/files/pdf/loc...covid19_en.pdf
and
https://www.chp.gov.hk/files/pdf/flights_trains_en.pdf

Imported cases are either symptomatic (and usually detected upon arrival) or asymptomatic. There are also "overseas cases" who got detected before boarding, but flew over nevertheless.
Imported cases are detected upon arrival or during their quarantine period. My "informal" information is that quite a few have been detected DURING their quarantine.
As you know, the incubation period is typically 5-6 days but up to 14 days (has been more in a few cases). The PCR test is not a serology test (antibodies), It is an instantaneous covid-sick test. Some pax could have been infected (exposed) a few days ago and the test will be PCR positive only a week later later.
But I agree with you that it would be interesting to know how many persons who returned from abroad have turned positive during their quarantine period, before mandatory arrival testing was introduced and after.

The issue of contamination on a plane or at the airportwill never be answered. Someone arriving from abroad could test positive a few days after arrival because 1) he has been exposed before departure or 2) contaminated during travel (airport or plane). Impossible to tell. I remember a recent suspicion of contamination during travel on SQ because of a very long two-longhaul travel plus very long transit in SIngapore,Pax was negative before travel. But that is only suspicion.
Basically, there is no way to know how the many pax that test positive shortly after arrival have been contaminated during travel.

jdawg

Back to the original question - since it sounds like leaving the airport won't be an option, are there accommodations (hotels, overnight lounges, etc) in the HKG airport that would make a 16 hour layover more manageable?

I'm OW Emerald - but I assume the first class lounge will close for the overnight lounge and I can't stay in a wing cabana for 10+ hours.

tentseller

IIRC there are no airside accommodations available in the departure area.

It used to be you can sneak an overnight stay by hiding until the SFO CX lounge incident. They are now very diligent clearing the lounge at nightly closings.

889

"Unfortunately I have no access to confidential government statistics, and would not report any non-public info anyway."

Nobody's asking for that. The underlying data is indeed available on the CHP website. Somebody just has to make a considerable effort to compile it.

There's data on infected persons with a recent travel history, showing flights and dates of travel, with case numbers.

Then there's data showing for each case number the date of case reporting and onset of symptoms.

Putting these two together would show the cases of recent travel which developed symptoms or infections after the date of travel -- that is, those not picked up as positive in the airport screening.

https://www.chp.gov.hk/en/features/102998.html
https://www.chp.gov.hk/en/features/102997.html

freed0m

the problem with these cases is more that quarantine/isolation will continue to be the standard as the tests are not reliable.

byebye to quarantine-free travel for a long time.

889

But that's just guessing. The statistics are there and will show how many cases are caught after airport testing among 100,000 or so quarantinees. Once we know the numbers we can discuss whether quarantining XX number of people is worth catchng Y number of infectees.

Bear in mind that with all the exemptions from cross-border quarantine -- and there are now quite a lot -- the Government has recognised that a zero-tolerance approach is not practical. There needs to be a balance.

https://www.coronavirus.gov.hk/eng/5...exemption.html

As an aside, note that Turkey, for example, has been open to non-quarantined travellers for some time now, and hasn't suffered any notice ill effects from its open door policy. And tourists are returning there.

freed0m

the way that Hong Kong deals with the virus now does not inspire confidence that it will allow quarantine free travel in any short time. This year is certainly lost.

889

What Hong Kong does and what it should be doing are completely separate issues.

To me, it's pretty clear the Government is not basing its actions on epidemiology. Else how could it justify banning visitors from Taiwan? Or quarantining residents returning from Taiwan? Is there a genuine risk when the situation there is so much more favourable than the situation in Hong Kong?

Not to suggest I know how the Government is instead making its decisions. I've a suspicion, though, that the approach is simply to avoid making decisions, which leaves us gummed up right where we are for who knows how long.

brunos

Remember that the system in place was primarily created when Hong Kong had few local cases compared to most of the world and lots of imported cases

Then there were talks of bridges with places like Taiwan, Macau or GZ. The idea was reciprocity. This project has been suspended given HK current situation.
When you see how quickly the situation exploded in HK, it could/does elsewhere. Caution makes sense.

Cryofern

There's a "Refreshhh by Aerotel" with private rooms containing a shower and daybed-like-but-longer thing (located in the three-way intersection) and a "Relaxation Corner" normally open to all with around ten cushioned but angled sleeping surfaces in one room (in the center of the terminal) but both are closed in response to the pandemic. I was also under the impression that overnight layovers would not be allowed because transiting passengers must be supervised, but maybe I'm confusing things with Singapore and I guess OP is hoping for something to change by October or whenever it was.

mucaari

Is there no direct connection on your route? Or a stopover that does have airside hotels? In the moment airlines are often very willing to refund tickets, so you might get a chance to do so and book some other connection.

ernestnywang

Quarantine, yes, but HKSAR is not banning visitors from Taiwan.

HKG allows pax to transit as long as the scheduled connection is within 24 hours and on a single ticket/PNR (some sources say ticket, others say PNR), with boarding pass issued at point of origin and bags through-checked.

889

The Government is now going to permit transits from but not to the Mainland. But only until October 15.

That suggests some broader liberalisation of the rules in October isn't likely.

Babywine

The US changing to low risk is definitely wishful thinking. I think you need to check the John Hopkins site for Covid tracking.
I was originally scheduled to fly to the US for a legal hearing in October, and am glad that it has been changed to virtual.

RaSiDa

That's the striking point to answer OP's question. Is your transit ticket issued by the same carrier and the transit is involving the same airline?
Ultimately, what it will come down to is if the airline will accept you for your itinerary at check-in wherever your origin airport is. If the airline can print you both boarding passes and check your bags all the way through to your final destination, then you will be fine.

Upon arrival at HKG airport, there is not verification of your transit status upon deplaning. They will only ask for your resident card if you approach Immigration control and try to enter the city, at which point you will be denied if all you hold is a US Passport. You will have to approach Transit control, and they will ask for your connecting boarding pass and waive you through if you posses one. If you successfully made it all the way to HKG, got off the plane and don't approach any of the two control points, then you can stay in no-man's land and try to beat this guy's record, who stayed in the "sterile Arrivals Area" for 3 months because the destination he wanted to fly to had its borders shut and he would not budge.

https://www.thestandard.com.hk/secti...r-three-months