However, patients can only opt for home isolation if they fulfill relevant requirements.
Patients carrying Omicron sub-variants BA.2.12.1, BA.4 and BA.5 will no longer be required to isolate in government-run facilities and can now just undergo home quarantine, the Centre for Health Protection Communicable Disease Branch Head Dr. Chuang Shuk-kwan announced on 20 July.
The same rule applies for the close contacts of patients, Chuang added.
However, Chuang said patients can only opt for home isolation if they fulfil relevant requirements and their household environment is suitable.
“Such arrangements will be the same as those for other Omicron cases,” the medical expert said.
As of 18 July, Hong Kong has 1,093 cases carrying the Omicron sub-lineage BA.2.12.1 and 372 involving the sub-lineages BA.4 and BA.5.
“The World Health Organization noted that there is no severity signal among the BA.5 subvariant. The BA.5 subvariant has a growth advantage over other sub-variants but we have not observed any increase in severity among those patients suffering from it,” Chuang said.
