New crown pneumonia|Experts suggest that crew members work for two months and quarantine on the 14th before taking a long holiday to reduce risks

Within a week, three consecutive pilots of Cathay Pacific were diagnosed at home during the exemption from quarantine after arriving in Hong Kong from Frankfurt, Germany. Cathay Pacific further tightened relevant guidelines. For the first three days after returning to Hong Kong, the crew members can only leave home for a maximum of two hours per day, allowing them to be allowed. Buy necessities, exercise, etc.

However, some experts believe that once the crew members return to Hong Kong, once they enter the community and return home, it is already possible to bring the virus into the community, and going out for a "limited time" will not stop the spread of the community.

In addition, there are reports that the government is considering requiring crew members to be quarantined at home for 14 days, but experts pointed out that home quarantine is not safe and may always spread the virus to their family members. "Isolation in a house is not as good as isolation in a hotel for 14 days." The crew members work for two months at a time, then arrange hotel quarantine for 14 days, and then take a one-month holiday to reduce the risk of virus spread, and advocate the government to provide special support to airlines.

▼November 13th, Kaifanxuan 1 to 3 closed area inspection▼

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Liang Zichao, a specialist in respiratory medicine, said that due to the coexistence policy of foreign countries, Hong Kong crew members cannot actually achieve "closed-loop management" after arriving in foreign countries, and they are prone to cross-infection.

And when these crew members return to Hong Kong, they can go home on their own, or even enter the community for shopping. It is already possible to bring the virus into the community, and the "time limit" cannot prevent the spread of the community. "The virus can be tens of thousands of times in a short period of time. If you increase it, you can come in and out of a community suddenly. In fact, there is no risk of controlling it."

Respiratory system specialist Liang Zichao advised the crew to work for two months at a time, then arrange hotel quarantine for 14 days and take a one-month holiday.

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"Sing Tao Daily" reported today that the government plans to require all crew members to undergo home quarantine for 14 days after returning to Hong Kong.

However, Liang Zichao pointed out that home quarantine is not safe. Although the crew members are vaccinated, the protection will continue to decline. The vaccine will also reduce the symptoms of the infected and more likely to cause hidden transmission at home. He questioned "the crew members do not Is there a special structure? Other people can not be quarantined at home, but they can?" He suggested that airlines arrange crew members to work for two months at a time, then quarantine at the hotel for 14 days, and take a one-month holiday.

▼November 9th Tsim Sha Tsui Kaiyu Sealed Area Inspection▼

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Regarding the government's suggestion that tightening the quarantine exemption may affect the supply of cargo, Liang Zichao bluntly said that it is not true, because foreign airlines can still ship cargo to Hong Kong, and the tightening will only increase the cost of local airlines.

He suggested that the government provide special support to the affected airlines and consider granting ex-gratia allowances to these crew members.

He added that the crew should be quarantined at the hotel for 14 days instead of 7 days, because the crew is likely to be infected with the virus during the journey, which is different from ordinary passengers. The Delta variant virus has an incubation period of about 4.7 days and is quarantined after arrival in Hong Kong. 7 days is not safe enough.

Xu Shuchang pointed out that home quarantine has the opportunity to spread the virus to people who live with it. If the crew has stayed in another place, they should not go home for quarantine.

(Information Picture / Photo by Luo Junhao)

Xu Shuchang, Chair Professor of Respiratory Department of CUHK, pointed out that the living environment in Hong Kong is generally crowded. Home quarantine may spread the virus to those who live with it. If the crew has stayed abroad, they should not go home for quarantine. Return to Hong Kong immediately after arriving in a foreign country. If you do not stay, you can also consider quarantine at home.

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