We would like to share the following message on Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) from Department of Health about Government strengthens testing requirements for persons arriving at Hong Kong from foreign places and Specifications under Prevention and Control of Disease (Regulation of Cross-boundary Conveyances and Travellers) Regulation to be gazetted.
Health, Safety and Environment Office
Updated information on Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19)
Government strengthens testing requirements for persons arriving at Hong Kong from foreign places and Specifications under Prevention and Control of Disease (Regulation of Cross-boundary Conveyances and Travellers) Regulation to be gazetted
For early identification of imported cases to achieve the objective of preventing the importation of cases, after making reference to expert advice, the Government will require persons who arrive at Hong Kong from places outside China and have completed the 14-day quarantine to undergo another test on the 19th or 20th day following their arrival at Hong Kong. This is to ensure that with compulsory testing, no case would slip through the net even under very exceptional cases where the incubation period of the virus is longer than the quarantine period.
According to the compulsory testing notice, any person aged six or above who arrives at Hong Kong on or after December 2, 2020 and is placed under quarantine pursuant to a Quarantine Order under section 3 of the Compulsory Quarantine of Persons Arriving at Hong Kong from Foreign Places Regulation (Cap. 599E), must undergo testing on the 19th or 20th day following the person's arrival at Hong Kong. The 19th or 20th day following the person's arrival at Hong Kong is counted with the day of arrival as the 1st day.
Persons subject to compulsory testing must attend any community testing centres to undergo testing (see the list at www.communitytest.gov.hk/en/). Any person who fails to comply with the testing notice commits an offence and may be fined a fixed penalty of $5,000. The person would also be issued with a compulsory testing order requiring him/her to undergo testing within a specified timeframe. Failure to comply with the order is an offence and the offender would be liable to a fine at level 4 ($25,000) and imprisonment for six months.
Moreover, the Government announced that it will gazette the specifications under the Prevention and Control of Disease (Regulation of Cross-boundary Conveyances and Travellers) Regulation (Cap. 599H) to include Canada as a specified place starting from December 25 to more effectively combat the epidemic. The Government has earlier introduced Cap. 599H to impose testing and quarantine conditions on travellers coming to Hong Kong from very high-risk places to reduce the health risk they may bring to Hong Kong. The Secretary for Food and Health (SFH) has previously published in the Gazette specifications on the relevant measures applicable to 19 specified places (i.e. Bangladesh, Belgium, Ecuador, Ethiopia, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Nepal, Pakistan, the Philippines, Romania, Russia, South Africa, Turkey, Ukraine, the United Kingdom and the United States of America) and adjusted the relevant conditions having regard to the circumstances on the ground since the implementation of the regulation.
For more details, please refer to the press releases:
Government strengthens testing requirements for persons arriving at Hong Kong from foreign places
https://www.info.gov.hk/gia/general/202012/18/P2020121800850.htm
Specifications under Prevention and Control of Disease (Regulation of Cross-boundary Conveyances and Travellers) Regulation to be gazetted
https://www.info.gov.hk/gia/general/202012/18/P2020121800522.htm
Please visit our Facebook and Thematic Website (https://www.coronavirus.gov.hk/eng/index.html) regularly for further information and updates.
We would like to solicit your support to disseminate the information to your colleagues, work associates and/or business partners so that they could adopt proper preventive measures. Thank you very much for your support.
Department of Health
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敬啟者：
2019冠狀病毒病的最新資訊
政府加強外地到港人士檢測要求 及 政府就《預防及控制疾病（規管跨境交通工具及到港者）規例》下的指明刊憲
為了及早識別輸入個案，以達到外防輸入的目標，政府在參考專家意見後，將規定從中國以外地區抵港並已完成14天檢疫的人士，在抵港後第19或20天須再次接受檢測，以確保即使在病毒潛伏期超過檢疫期的非常罕有情況下，仍可通過強制檢測找到漏網之魚。
根據強制檢測公告，任何年滿六歲或以上，在2020年12月2日或之後到達香港，並根據《外國地區到港人士強制檢疫規例》(第599E章)第3條發出的檢疫令實行檢疫的人士，須在到達香港後的第19或20天進行檢測。該人士到達香港後的第19或20天是由到達當天作第一天起計。
受檢人士必須於社區檢測中心接受檢測服務（名單見www.communitytest.gov.hk/zh-HK/）。任何相關人士如未有遵從檢測公告即屬犯罪，可處定額罰款5,000元，並會收到強制檢測令，要求該人士於指明期間內接受檢測。不遵從強制檢測令即屬犯罪，並可處第四級罰款（25,000元）及監禁六個月。
另外，政府公布會就《預防及控制疾病（規管跨境交通工具及到港者）規例》（第599H章）下的指明刊憲，由12月25日起將加拿大加入指明地區，以更有效應對疫情。政府早前訂立第599H章，就從極高風險地區到港人士實施檢測及檢疫條件，以減低他們為香港帶來的衞生風險。食物及衞生局局長已在較早時候刊憲指明有關措施適用於19個指明地區（即孟加拉、比利時、厄瓜多爾、埃塞俄比亞、法國、德國、印度、印度尼西亞、哈薩克斯坦、尼泊爾、巴基斯坦、菲律賓、羅馬尼亞、俄羅斯、南非、土耳其、烏克蘭、英國及美國），並因應規例實施以來的實際情況調節相關條件。
詳情請參閱有關新聞公報：
政府加強外地到港人士檢測要求
https://www.info.gov.hk/gia/general/202012/18/P2020121800659.htm
政府就《預防及控制疾病（規管跨境交通工具及到港者）規例》下的指明刊憲
https://www.info.gov.hk/gia/general/202012/18/P2020121800506.htm
請定期留意我們的Facebook及專題網站（https://www.coronavirus.gov.hk/chi/index.html），以獲取更多及更新的資訊。
希望你可以將有關資訊與你的同事、合作者及／或業務伙伴分享，讓他們都能採取合適的預防措施。非常感謝你的支持。
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