The Hong Kong Monetary Authority is reportedly lobbying the local government to reduce the existing quarantine period for returning travellers, in yet another plea by the financial sector to loosen the city’s Covid measures.
HKMA told a group of banks that it will lobby the government to reduce the hotel quarantine for returning travellers from the current 14-day period to seven days, according to a «Bloomberg» report citing unnamed sources.
This occurs around a month after the Hong Kong government cut the period from 21 days to the current 14 days in the midst of ongoing pressure from the city’s business community, though local leader Carrie Lam assured at the time that the decision was «purely based on science».
«All-Out Effort»
According to the report, the HKMA acknowledged that banking staff are leaving the city – in line with the Securities and Futures Commission’s worries about the risk of a brain drain.
HKMA will make an «all-out effort» to address the financial community’s concerns and it urged the banking community to stay committed to Hong Kong, though bankers participating in the meeting were sceptical about the de-facto central bank’s influence on the local government.
In addition, HKMA also sought to reassure banks that the city wouldn’t place staff in new isolation facilities if they have adequate housing for self-isolation.
