This suspension, which concerns all countries classified as “high risk” for health by the Hong Kong authorities, will take effect on Sunday for a period of one month.

It aims to "control the spread of the highly contagious Omicron variant of Covid-19", the airport said on its website.

Hong Kong has already prohibited access to its territory, since January 8, to any passenger who has stayed more than two hours in the last 21 days in eight countries (Australia, Canada, United States, France, India, Pakistan, Philippines , UK).

Transit through Hong Kong airport will now be prohibited for people coming from all other countries deemed to be "high risk".

Entry to Hong Kong will remain possible for them, provided they are fully vaccinated and subject to 21 days of quarantine upon arrival.

This decision is a new blow for the airline Cathay Pacific, based in Hong Kong, which has already drastically reduced its flights since the start of the pandemic.

A Cathay Pacific airliner lands at Hong Kong International Airport on August 11, 2021 ISAAC LAWRENCE AFP/Archives

Many other airlines have also reduced their flights to the city or stopped serving it, due to the long quarantines imposed on passengers and crew.

The Hong Kong transit ban is likely to impact preparations for the Beijing Winter Olympics, which begin on February 4.

Many sports delegations have planned to change planes in Hong Kong to go to the Chinese capital.

Bloomberg, citing unnamed sources, said earlier this week that a transit ban would not apply to athletes, diplomats and other members of official delegations traveling to the Olympics.

But the statement from the airport on Friday does not mention any exceptions.

Reached by AFP, a spokesperson for the airport did not provide any immediate clarification.

Along with mainland China, Hong Kong is one of the last places in the world to cling to the "zero Covid" strategy, consisting of avoiding the spread of the coronavirus on its territory at all costs and a draconian policy of isolation of patients and their contacts.

This strategy has allowed the city of 7.5 million inhabitants to register just over 12,000 cases and only 213 deaths since the start of the pandemic, but at the cost of costly international isolation for this great global financial center.

The authorities have been on a war footing since the appearance of a small focus of local contamination in Omicron in a restaurant, which triggered massive testing campaigns, frantic tracing of contact cases, the closure of primary schools, bars, sports facilities, schools, cinemas and museums, and a curfew for restaurants from 6 p.m.

© 2022 AFP