Photo from Cebu Pacific
MANILA, Philippines – Hong Kong’s Centre for Health Protection of the Department of Health said Cebu Pacific was banned from carrying passengers from Manila to Hong Kong until Sept. 16 this year.
On its website, Hong Kong health authorities said the travel prohibition, which started last Sept. 3, was ordered after four Cebu Pacific passengers (5J272) on Sept. 1 were found to be positive for COVID-19 upon arrival testing.
Passengers bound for Hong Kong are required to present a negative RT-PCR test result taken within 72 hours before the scheduled time of departure and show confirmed hotel reservations.
While RT-PCR tests provided high accuracy in detecting COVID-19, the World Health Organization said these could miss virus infections that were incubating or when a person was infected after taking the test.
Philippine Airlines was also prohibited from flying passengers from Manila from Aug. 29 until Sept. 11. This was after three passengers tested positive for the virus upon arriving in Hong Kong.