Hong Kong to halve COVID flight-ban penalty to 7 days

Hong Kong said on Sunday it is shortening the ban on airlines that are found to have carried three or more passengers who test positive for COVID-19 upon arrival, as the number of local cases continues to ease from its peak. Starting on Friday, the ban on individual airline routes will be halved to seven days as part of an ongoing 'flight suspension mechanism', the government said in a statement. The change comes after the government said last week a ban on flights from nine countries - Canada, India, Pakistan, Nepal, Britain, the United States, France, Australia and the Philippines - would be lifted on April 1.