Society

A girl with an electronic wristband dragged her huge suitcase into a building but dared not make a sound.  Chen Yanni, a student from the mainland, was going to do her 14-day quarantine in a flat in a residential building listed on Airbnb. Many mainland students, like Yanni, preferred to be quarantined in an Airbnb flat rather than a hotel. The fact that renters of Airbnb are not required to provide their travel history and usually conduct self-quarantine raises concern over hygiene safety among local residents. Airbnb, the world's largest lodging platform, has been operating in Hong Kong for four years. Up to July 2020, the number of mainland students who stated their intention to study in Hong Kong increased by 30.77% from the previous month, according to Kai Tak Education, a mainland education agency for Hong Kong Universities Application. At Hong Kong Baptist University, more than 90 Year 2 and Year 3 mainland students returned to Hong Kong for the new semester in September. That’s about one-third of the mainland students at the University. "Compared with hotels, Airbnb has the advantages of having cooking facilities. I am less lonely and space is bigger," Ms Chen explained. She quarantined with two friends in an Airbnb apartment in Tsim Sha Tsui. "No outdoor activity for 14 days is already frustrating enough, not to mention in a very tiny space," Ms Chen added. She wanted to live somewhere that felt more like home.   On the Airbnb listing, there was no description of whether this apartment accepts quarantine tenants. Potential tenants need to personally message the house owner to ask. "After texting about 30 landlords in person on Airbnb, about 28 replied that they accepted quarantine but needed to make sure nobody would notice us when we enter the apartments," said Ms …

Back in July, when he was helping his mom look through Reddit for Hong Kong travel information, Brian stumbled upon the Hong Kong Quarantine Support Group on Facebook.  Brian, who refused to disclose his full name because of privacy issues, a Hongkonger who works in the legal industry, travelled from Los Angeles to Hong Kong at the end of August because of an expiring American visa. Joining the Facebook group in late July after the Hong Kong government implemented the Cap. 599H Prevention and Control of Disease Regulation, Brian was never worried about the inbound trip back to Hong Kong.  "I wasn't too stressed about it. I was just thinking I had another month, so I would follow the situation on Facebook," he said. The Facebook group, created on March 17 by the initiative of Kunj Gandhi, now has more than 18,000 members worldwide, including the Philippines, Malaysia, Australia, Canada, the US, and the UK. "In this brand new world when so many felt so isolated and had so many questions, we wanted to reach out and help create a place where people could gain information, comfort, and community," Tess Lyons, a moderator of the Hong Kong Quarantine Support Group, said. With an average of 50 daily posts appearing on the page, the support group serves as a forum for anyone who seeks answers and insights regarding travelling to Hong Kong. Common discussion topics include pre- and post-arrival Covid-19 testing, Hong Kong airport procedures, public transportation arrangements, hotel recommendations, and food delivery services. The legal officer contacted a woman who successfully boarded from Los Angeles in the group and went to the same laboratory for the necessary documents. "If Person A found success by going to this laboratory and using these documents, the safest thing to do is to do …