In a blow to travellers and airlines, Hong Kong has decided to delay by two weeks a plan to offer shorter quarantine periods to vaccinated arrivals who clear a coronavirus antibody test at the airport.
The tests will not be introduced at the end of this month as planned, sources said, as city authorities are concerned about the rising number of Covid-19 infections overseas triggered by the more transmissible Delta variant of the coronavirus.
The postponement comes on top of a recent U-turn by the authorities on a proposal to allow fully vaccinated residents to return from extremely high-risk countries like Britain, which are subject to a flight ban by Hong Kong.