Government announced the updated quarantine requirements for vaccinated close contacts of locally acquired COVID-19 cases
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     The Government today (May 7) announced the updated quarantine requirements for vaccinated close contacts of locally acquired COVID-19 cases. Taking into account the consensus interim recommendation by the Scientific Committee on Emerging and Zoonotic Diseases and the Scientific Committee on Vaccine Preventable Diseases (collectively the JSC) under the CHP, joined by the Chief Executive's expert advisory panel (EAP), published today, as well as the latest local situations of the epidemic, the Government decided to adopt a progressive manner to adjust the relevant quarantine requirements for close contacts as follows starting from today:

For close contacts of locally acquired cases who do not have the N501Y mutant strain
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    The duration of compulsory quarantine can be shortened from 14 days of quarantine in a quarantine centre (QC) to seven days of quarantine in a QC, counting from the last day of exposure to the confirmed case (the day of last exposure is regarded as Day 0), provided the following three criteria have been satisfied:

(a) documented proof of completion of two doses of CoronaVac or BioNTech COVID-19 vaccines, and that 14 days have passed from the date of receiving the second dose#; and
(b) results of polymerase chain reaction (PCR) of the respiratory specimens taken on Day 0 or Day 1 after admission to a QC being negative; and
(c) positive immunoglobulin G (IgG) or total antibody against SARS-CoV-2 spike protein, or positive surrogate neutralising antibody, taken after admission to a QC.

    After completing the seven-day quarantine, the close contact will be subject to seven days of self-monitoring, and to compulsory testing at a community testing centre (CTC) on Day 12.

For close contacts of locally acquired cases detected to have the N501Y mutant strain
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     The duration of quarantine in a QC can be shortened from 21 days to 14 days after the last day of exposure plus seven days of self-monitoring, counting from the last day of exposure to the confirmed case, and they are also subject to compulsory testing at a CTC on Day 19, provided the following three criteria have been satisfied:

(a) documented proof of completion of two doses of CoronaVac or BioNTech COVID-19 vaccines, and that 14 days have passed from the date of receiving the second dose#; and
(b) results of PCR testing of the respiratory specimens taken on Day 0 or Day 1 after admission to a QC, and those taken on Day 7 and Day 12 after last exposure to the confirmed case, being all negative; and
(c) positive IgG or total antibody against SARS-CoV-2 spike protein, or positive surrogate neutralising antibody, taken after admission to a QC.

# The following persons are regarded as satisfying criteria (a):

1) close contacts who had documented past infection of COVID-19 within nine months after discharge; or
2) close contacts who had documented past infection of COVID-19 more than nine months after discharge plus one dose of CoronaVac or BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine, and for whom 14 days have passed from the date of receiving the dose.

Ends/Friday, May 7, 2021
Issued at HKT 20:10

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