MisterTanaka

Two quick questions: Do we know if the Day 5 and 7 PCR tests are going away ON November 21, or for arrivals on November 21 or later? I'm arriving November 20, and while it doesn't really matter, I'm curious if I'll have to do the Day 5 and 7 PCR tests.

Understood that I'll need to continue the antigen (RAT) tests and keep images of my results saved. Question: Can I bring some of my soon-to-expire stash of tests acquired in the US to use for those tests, or do I need to get them (or will they be provided to me?) locally?

Thanks.

maalloc

You can bring your own tests.

I’ll arrive tonight and report here the testing instructions for those of us who arrive before Nov 21st

maalloc

Entering HK mid-November 2022: easier than ever.

Flew AMS-HKG on KL with a stopover in BKK yesterday, and I'm glad to report it's getting better and better.

Flying KL to HKG:
KLM stopped having more stringent requirements than the HK govt when it comes to testing. On their traveldoc, they now state that they accept self-administered RATs and won't even ask for the test result as long as you can show the green health QR code.
Now, my lab-administered RAT result was asked at check-in by an overzealous agent... But I was departing from an outstation in France and feel fairly confident I could have fought it if needed. On the last document check at AMS, KL staff never asked for the lab result. It's a huge change compared to early october when KL AMS agents were dissecting every test (and refusing people who'd tried to play it safe by getting a PCR).

Arrival procedure:
More streamlined than ever.
Gone are the days of mindless walking around. You just show your green QR Code on arrival and are given a PCR sample bag.
Go to a testing booth, get tested, get up and hand out the bag containing your sample to a third person. Total time: less than 2 minutes.
E-Channel for non-residents is back so it's possible to breeze through immigration again. I always loved how it's faster for me to enter HK as a nobody than to enter my own country.

Monitoring policies:
I can confirm HK is looking the other way now.
First, as discussed above, PCR tests are down to 2: day 0 at the airport and day 2.
Even if I landed on Nov 18 and the rule was supposed to be from Nov 21st onwards, the Compulsory Quarantine Order only mentions 2 tests, not 4.

That really lowers the risk of turning PCR+ from day 4 to 7 by catching it in the city. Risk-wise, it's a game changer. It also saves 2x 1h of going to a Community Testing Center, which is always welcome.

Now, for the fun part, the airport test has become a joke. Gone are the days when mandatory tests were tear-inducing brain-scratching more than nose-swabbing.
They only performed a "throat swab" which honestly felt more like "tongue poking". Maybe I got lucky with the agent, but if you don't want to see a Covid result turn positive, that's exactly how you do it. The reader will decide if this is a health concern because imported cases are likely to pass through the net; or the implementation of a face-saving policy to please the powers up-north.


TL;DR: Hong Kong is catching up with 2022 !

Sure, traveling to HK still feels like having taken a wayback machine to 2020: pre-departure tests, outdoors mask mandate and 3 days without eating in are a thing of the past everywhere but in China.

That said, if you are not in a rush and can afford not to do everything you want for 72 hours after arrival, the process is not that bad. Incarceration risk is lower than ever for those who didn't want to take the chance to end up in Penny's Bay for a failed PCR test.

Chihster

How long did it take to get notified of your PCR result on arrival? I assume you can pretty much do whatever you want upon entering HK before you get the result? Thanks.

maalloc

Incredibly fast, less than 3h.
And they sent it by email, that’s a nice touch too

JNelson113

I don't think that you're allowed to eat at restaurants for 72 hours.

889

You now get notified if your PCR test is negative? That wasn't the case before, for me at least.

maalloc

That’s correct.

Tests done at airport and during hotel Q used not to be notified (or at least they weren’t for me), but I always received the result of tests done at Community Testing Centers…

Which came out handy when govt tried to slap me with a $10000 fine after an allegedly missed mandatory test.

889

After my test at a Community Centre a few months ago, I received an SMS with the specimen number but not the results.

tentseller

AS$ U ME?
You will be amber upon landing until day three, which implies restrictions on where you can do things.
The arrival -ve test result is only one of the requirements to get a blue (all access) code.

:D!

Airport procedure was already like this for me one month ago, and as for the PCRs, while they did both nose and mouth swabs it was pretty gentle and quick (well tbh I don't have anything to compare it to since arriving in HK was the first time I ever had a covid test done by someone else).

I got results by SMS for all 4 PCR tests.

Pickles

What I am seeing now is a lot of places that were previously quite retentive about the blue code (places of worship, business events, etc.) are now OK with an amber code. Only the red code is forbidden entry. So another form of "look the other way", basically leave it up to the venue providers to decide who they let in. And the fact that they're letting people with amber codes in means that they have been assured (on the sly, possibly) that the police isn't going to show up at the speakeasy and cart everybody away.

FlyingSloth

I really want to do a 1 night stopover in Hong Kong in December.. what would be the easiest way re: COVID stuff? U.S passport have an onward flight the next day.

and will things go back to normal soon? how much longer of the non-sense testing, etc.?

tentseller

All the pre departure and testing at entry are on the government website.

The only caveat is if you test +'ve at entry you will be issued an isolation order - can't leave HK for at least 7 days until two consecutive day's RAT test are -'ve.

mcdullhk88

What happens if one tests +ve on arrival (or day 2) but has proof of Covid recovery in the past 90 days? Does HK govt recognize that at all?