Many countries are now imposing strict travel bans and quarantines in order to tackle the spread of Covid-19 among their population.
People who have returned from heavily affected countries or been in close contact with someone who tested positive for the coronavirus are expected to quarantine themselves for a period of time.
Hong Kong recently announced that they would be quarantining ALL arrivals from abroad, with the exception of those coming from Taiwan or Macau.
This new announcement comes shortly after they decided to start charging people who opt to use the government’s temporary housing to quarantine themselves instead of staying in their own homes.
Wait…what?
HK$200 Per Day To Stay In Temporary Quarantine Centres
Yes, you read that right. They have a good reason for doing so though.
Starting from today, 17 Mar 2020, Hong Kong will be charging HK$200 (S$36.56) per day to those who want to stay in the temporary accommodation provided by the government during their quarantine period.
This is because they discovered that people were taking advantage of the system, and they also wanted to prioritise access to those who can’t afford to quarantine themselves in alternate places, like a house or a hotel.
Those quarantined at the government housing sites would also be provided with meal arrangements during their period of stay.
The temporary accommodation sites include Tso Kung Tam Outdoor Recreation Centre, Sai Kung Outdoor Recreation Centre and Lady MacLehose Holiday Village.
People Have Been Misusing The Free Temporary Accommodation
Since 7 Feb, everyone who arrived in Hong Kong from mainland China (except Hubei province) would have to quarantine themselves for 14 days.
More than 700 people have stayed at these centres since the implementation of the quarantine arrangement in Hong Kong.
However, the government said in a statement that they were “aware of suspected cases of people abusing the temporary accommodation”.
“For example, some Hong Kong residents frequently travelled between the Mainland and Hong Kong after the compulsory quarantine arrangement took effect on February 8, and stayed in temporary accommodation repeatedly,” they said.
They also added that some local Hong Kong residents chose to stay in the temporary accommodation despite having their own local residences.
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The Quarantine Centres Will Be Reserved For Those Who Really Need It
The government is not collecting the fees for fun.
The money will be used to “combat abuse of the facilities and reserve places for people with genuine need”, said the statement given by the government.
“People with genuine need” refers to those who need to serve the mandatory quarantine, but are unable to arrange their own accommodation locally. This means that non-Hong Kong residents who don’t have their own homes there will not have to pay the daily fees.
So for those who have been enjoying their free holiday, it looks like their time is up.
Hong Kong now has 155 confirmed cases of the coronavirus, including 70 recoveries. The country had previously gone on weeks of lockdown during the initial stages of the global spread of the virus, and is currently said to be “coming back to life”.
“It’s clearly not bustling, and restaurants aren’t brimming with activity, but people are going out again, shopping again, walking on the streets,” said an American resident in Hong Kong, according to Market Watch.
Hopefully, it won’t be long before all this chaos is over and the rest of the world goes back to normal as well.
