Hong Kong government confirms why Nicole Kidman was allowed to skip quarantine after flying in to film TV series The Expats
Nicole Kidman has avoided quarantine in Hong Kong where she’s filming a television series, after receiving an exemption from the government.
The city’s government did not directly identify the 54-year old Hollywood star but said it had granted foreign overseas film personnel permission to skip quarantine for ‘the purpose of performing designated professional work’.
The exemption contrasts sharply with entry rules for residents that are some of the most stringent coronavirus requirements globally, sparking online criticism from residents in the special administrative region of China.
Exempt: Nicole Kidman has avoided quarantine in Hong Kong where she’s filming a TV series, after receiving an exemption from the government. Pictured with director Lulu Wang
Kidman was in the former British colony to film an Amazon television series called The Expats, online news site HK01 reported.
She was spotted shopping and filming after arriving from Sydney last week, according to HK01.
NSW reported its biggest one-day rise in Covid-19 infections on Thursday.
Excused: The city’s government did not directly identify the 54-year old Hollywood star but said it had granted foreign overseas film personnel permission to skip quarantine for ‘the purpose of performing designated professional work’. Pictured at the SAG Awards in 2020
Hong Kong arrivals from countries considered ‘high risk’ are mandated to undergo compulsory quarantine for 21 days in a designated quarantine hotel, even those who are vaccinated.
The measures have led to many residents not being able to visit relatives and travel overseas for nearly two years, prompting an online backlash over Kidman’s exemption.
‘So we have HK residents who can’t come back if not vaccinated (and even then with 2-3 weeks quarantine) but Nicole Kidman can just enter like this? It’s disgusting!’ said one Twitter user.
Backlash: The news of Kidman’s exemption sparked backlash on social media, with Hong Kong locals complaining about the apparent ‘double standard’ enjoyed by the celebrity visitor
The government this week said it was upgrading 15 overseas places including the US, Spain and France to ‘high risk’ from ‘medium risk’ which means that only vaccinated Hong Kong residents are allowed to enter and must face the 21-day hotel quarantine on arrival.
The measures have sparked chaos for travellers who are desperately trying to rebook hotel quarantine and flights with limited supply available.
Australia has been reclassified to ‘medium risk’ from ‘low risk’ from August 20, meaning that vaccinated arrivals need to quarantine for 14 nights.
Without the exemption, Kidman would have had to do seven days of hotel quarantine.
New show: Expats is based on Janice Y.K. Lee’s novel The Expatriates, and follows the vibrant and extravagant lives of a wealthy expat community