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Source: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/arti...-quarantine-criticized-after-omicron-outbreak
Hong Kong’s Hotel Quarantine Criticized After Omicron Outbreak
Cross-infection in quarantine hotel seeded the virus locally
Thousands in housing estate locked down as omicron spreads
By Jinshan Hong
January 24, 2022, 5:00 a.m. EST
Hong Kong’s onerous system of hotel quarantine for travelers was meant to stop infection from seeping into a largely virus-free city. Instead, it’s become a spreading ground, seeding an omicron outbreak that’s led to thousands of people being locked down and calls for reform of the controversial setup.
An outbreak at a public housing estate of over 200 confirmed and preliminarily positive cases on Monday has been traced to a traveler who caught omicron while undergoing 21 days of isolation at a hotel in Kowloon. While she entered the hotel Covid-free, the pathogen was transmitted to her from an infected person staying at the same hotel.
It’s at least the fourth time in a year that hotels have passed infection on instead of containing them. The severity of this particular outbreak is escalating backlash against a travel policy that’s both costly and chaotic, with travelers scrambling to secure rooms that can go for as much as $770 a night amid constantly-changing rules...
Hong Kong’s Hotel Quarantine Criticized After Omicron Outbreak
Cross-infection in quarantine hotel seeded the virus locally
Thousands in housing estate locked down as omicron spreads
By Jinshan Hong
January 24, 2022, 5:00 a.m. EST
Hong Kong’s onerous system of hotel quarantine for travelers was meant to stop infection from seeping into a largely virus-free city. Instead, it’s become a spreading ground, seeding an omicron outbreak that’s led to thousands of people being locked down and calls for reform of the controversial setup.
An outbreak at a public housing estate of over 200 confirmed and preliminarily positive cases on Monday has been traced to a traveler who caught omicron while undergoing 21 days of isolation at a hotel in Kowloon. While she entered the hotel Covid-free, the pathogen was transmitted to her from an infected person staying at the same hotel.
It’s at least the fourth time in a year that hotels have passed infection on instead of containing them. The severity of this particular outbreak is escalating backlash against a travel policy that’s both costly and chaotic, with travelers scrambling to secure rooms that can go for as much as $770 a night amid constantly-changing rules...
