HONG KONG (BLOOMBERG) - A major business group has issued an unprecedented open letter warning Hong Kong's leader that her strict quarantine rules leave residents trapped in the city, threatening its standing as a global finance hub.
The European Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong sent the letter to Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam on Thursday (Aug 19), calling the city's newly tightened quarantine rules this week a "significant setback" following a quickly abandoned attempt to relax some of the world's strictest requirements for inbound travellers.
The business group called on Hong Kong, which has been pursuing a "Covid zero" strategy of stamping out all local cases, to create and communicate a clear exit plan for the pandemic that focuses on vaccinations, getting the local economy back to normal and reconnecting with the world.
"We are of the view that Hong Kong must open itself sooner rather than later or this new quarantine regime could lead many in the international community to question if they want to remain indefinitely trapped in Hong Kong when the rest of the world is moving on," Mr Frederik Gollob, chairman of the chamber's board of directors, wrote.
"This concern amongst the international business community could pose, undoubtedly, a growing threat to Hong Kong's status as an international business centre."
Hong Kong has been successful in keeping Covid-19 cases and deaths low with a mix of strict requirements for returning residents.
The rules include mandatory quarantine hotel stays of as long as 21 days, as well as rigid testing and isolation policies that require infected people to be hospitalised and most close contacts sent to quarantine facilities. Most visitors, whether for business or tourism, are not allowed.
The government's attempt to relax these measures in August - allowing in non-residents for the first time in more than a year and cutting quarantine to just seven days for some vaccinated travellers - was quickly abandoned this week, throwing travel plans into chaos.
The city has said the new rules, including reclassifying countries like the United States as high-risk destinations, are necessary following global outbreaks of the more transmissible Delta variant of the coronavirus.
The European Union chamber - an umbrella group that represents countries including Britain, Germany, France and Spain - said Hong Kong was now reacting "out of proportion" to isolated cases of Covid-19 in the city.
The city failed to understand the "new normal" in which the virus is treated as endemic but tolerable, given that vaccination lowers the risk of severe cases or death.
The chamber recommended that Hong Kong communicate a clear exit strategy that can "restore confidence" and enable residents to plan ahead, step up flagging vaccination efforts and continue to relax quarantine measures for vaccinated people.
