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Visiting Hong Kong over Easter

7 replies

NichyNoo · 05/03/2020 09:50

Hiya, I'm due to attend a family wedding in Hong Kong over Easter. Currently stand to lose nearly £5,000 if we cancel the trip as travel insurance won't cover unless FCO advice changes (as well as seriously annoying family members). Can anyone living there tell me what the situation is like please? Is everything closed? Wedding is in Central but family members from Kowloon attending. I'm trying to get impartial advice as family in HK all say it's fine but people in the UK are aghast that I could even consider travelling. Thank you!

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BlueCowWonders · 05/03/2020 13:41

The problem is the situation is changing so rapidly. Travel advice could change between now and Easter so you might be forced to cancel anyway. It really could be a wait-and-see situation - which is a shame for planning unfortunately Confused

caffelatte100 · 07/03/2020 10:17

As it stands now I would go, but you will have to see nearer the time. There's nothing to be gained financially to decide now is there.

HK have the coronavirus under control. Homeschooling since mid January has helped. My friends there say life is continuing as normal really with increased hygiene, masks on public transport etc.

RevolutionofourTime · 11/03/2020 15:45

Hi, I’m in HK. As said above, schools have been closed since late January and won’t reopen til late April, or more probably May/June.

The containment measures seem to be working. The border to China is shut, so there isn’t an influx of new cases. There are also travel restrictions from Italy, SK, Iran. By April there may well be more, including possibly from the UK (if that’s where you are).

There are currently 120 cases in HK. The number goes up by 1-5 cases a day. So the number is not flat, but we are not seeing a sudden big increase.

Many things are progressively reopening, eg public libraries and the judicial courts are reopening this week. But big events (eg Rugby 7s) have been cancelled.

Restaurants and bars are open, although they are much quieter than usual. I would avoid hot pots, temples/churches and any situation where you are expected to have physical contact with strangers. If eating a communal meal, make sure you use different pairs of chopsticks (black/white) for different purposes - don’t use same chopsticks to take food from common platter and putting it in your mouth.

If you don’t know HK, you might think that it all looks normal, as there are some people on the streets etc. It’s just that it’s a fraction of what it normally is. A very large number are working from home.

Please note it is expected that people wear face masks in public. It’s really hard to find them here, they’ve been sold out for weeks. Even at weddings I would expect to see people wearing them, in fact it would be recommended at it’s a large gathering. There are known cases of transmission at weddings.

What part of Hk is the wedding in? Some areas are more hit than others.

NotGenerationAlpha · 11/03/2020 16:06

My parents are in HK and I've been watching as I usually go in Easter. I think it's more likely you'll be barred from entering from the UK by Easter time. HK has it very under control with a lot of social distancing measure. Everyone here is saying we'll be Italy in a fortnight's time.

NichyNoo · 12/03/2020 17:37

Thank you all for the advice. Really hoping that HK bars visitors from the UK so that our flights are cancelled as I suspect that is the only way we'll get our money back Sad

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NichyNoo · 13/03/2020 20:09

Update for anyone interested - Cathay Pacific have cancelled our flights but now having to wait until Monday to see if they will refund us. Spent 2 hours 45 minutes on the phone on hold to them this morning only to be told that they will contact me on Monday Sad

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ilovewinterpansies · 13/03/2020 20:19

Hope you get your money back! Presumably if they cancelled then you should.

My parents live in Hk and are due here (Uk) just before Easter. Starting to think it's not going to happen now, and that in any event it's not a good idea (both in decent health but aged 67 and 70).

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