Hong Kong, Aug 8 (IANS): Hong Kong has slashed its Covid-19 quarantine requirement for overseas arrivals from seven to three days in a bid to attract business travellers and kick-start economic activity in the Asian financial hub.

The three days of quarantine in an officially assigned hotel room will be followed by another four days of "medical surveillance", Chief Executive John Lee said on Monday.

During those four days, affected people would be able to move around outside, but would not be allowed to visit restaurants, bars or places that normally require proof of vaccination, reports dpa news agency.

The new rules will apply from Friday and are designed to allow maximum economic and social activity, Lee said.

In doing so, the Chinese special administrative region is going much further than authorities in mainland China, which order seven days of mandatory quarantine and three days of observation upon entry.

Local regulations can go even further.

While Hong Kong records a few thousand new infections daily, China, by contrast, has a strict zero-Covid strategy, using curfews and other restrictions to nip any outbreak in the bud.

However, the measures have isolated China and been a burden on the world's second-largest economy, which grew by just 0.4 per cent in the second quarter.