Hong Kong Bans Flights from 8 Countries amid Omicron Outbreak

Hong Kong banned flights from eight countries for two weeks amid the Omicron outbreak, authorities announced on Wednesday.

Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam said the banned countries were Australia, Canada, France, India, Pakistan, Philippines, UK, and US. Flights will be banned from January 8 for two weeks.

The authorities launched a city-wide search for the contacts of a Covid patient as Lam ordered a Royal Caribbean “cruise to nowhere” ship to return to port early. Nine passengers on the vessel were identified as close contacts of an infected patient who was linked to a new omicron cluster.

Reports indicated that the city has seen a surge in infections in the past fortnight after being largely virus-free for the past seven months.

However, the emergence of the highly transmissible Omicron variant has sparked fear among authorities of a steep rise in cases. The city reported 25 infections on December 25 - the highest figure since April.