‘Extremely high risk’ – Brits banned

Hong Kong has announced that it will ban all incoming flights from the UK over Covid-19 concerns… with authorities labelling the country as “extremely high risk”.

The move follows the British government losing entry requirements for people arriving into the UK from almost every part of the world.

Hong Kong authorities say the decision comes “in view of the recent rebound of the epidemic situation in the UK and the widespread Delta variant virus strain there”.

The only other countries on Hong Kong’s “extremely high risk” category include Brazil, India, Indonesia, Nepal, Pakistan, the Philippines and South Africa.

Although there are rising case numbers in the U-K, the restrictions follow rising political tensions between Beijing and London.

The British government has repeatedly said that China is breaching the Sino-British Joint Declaration that preceded Hong Kong’s handover in 1997.

Hong Kong stocks will resume following a cancellation of the Monday morning session

A lowered rainstorm warning from the city’s weather observatory gave the all-clear for the exchange to reopen.

The Hong Kong Observatory lowered the rainstorm warning to amber from black after 11 a.m. local time, meaning stock trading will begin at 1:30 p.m. in accordance with Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Ltd.’s rules. The bourse operator had earlier canceled morning trading of both securities and derivatives markets, including Stock Connect due to the black rain warning.

Earlier the city’s education bureau suspended classes across Hong Kong due to the severe weather conditions. The government will resume vaccination after lowering the rainstorm warning.

Morning trading in the city was last suspended in October 2020 following a tropical storm Nangka prompted authorities to shutter businesses and close schools.

Average daily turnover in Hong Kong this year stands at around HK$188 billion.