News
Hong Kong airport considering segregating Mainland passengers as workers receive third vaccine dose
November 5th 2021
Hong Kong airport plans to segregate passengers arriving from China to avoid cross-infection among inbound passengers. Read More » Bloomberg News reports Hong Kong’s Food and Health Secretary, Sophie Chan, confirmed the plan on Thursday. “The airport is a high-risk place as there are so many cases around the world and nearly half of those imported are detected there [at the airport],” Chan said in an interview with Radio Television Hong Kong. “We are considering segregating tourists from the Mainland and other places to different zones or more at the airport.” The South China Morning Post had previously written the airport would be segregated into domestic and international zones with Gate 24 in Terminal 1 serving as the dividing line. A “green zone” from Gates 1 to 24 would be used for Mainland-bound travellers and flights while an “orange zone” from Gates 25 to 71 would be for other passengers. The newspaper said Hong Kong travellers could be allowed to travel to Guangdong province without quarantine as early as next month; the first move to freeing up travel to the Mainland. Meanwhile, the Airport Authority Hong Kong (AA) will arrange for relevant airport workers to receive a third vaccine dose in accordance with government policy. It said the targeted groups of airport staff were those who had unavoidable contact with transit/transfer traffic, foreign air crew and high-risk cargo workers already double vaccinated and are tested every three days. “The AA will continue to work with all airport companies on the implementation of the third dose,” it said. Nine out of 10 Hong Kong airport workers are vaccinated and this number rises to 97% for AA and Aviation Security Company Ltd (AVESCO) staff. Other preventive measures in accordance with Hong Kong Department of Health requirements and advice include designating separate dining areas for passengers and airport staff, mandating local ground staff to avoid contact with air crew and passengers and requiring staff to wear appropriate protective gear.
