Hong Kong will ban all flights from the UK from July 1st as the destination seeks to limit the spread of the Delta variant of Covid-19.

The UK will be classified as an “extremely high-risk” country, the highest rating Hong Kong has for pandemic travel.

The ban means people who had recently spent more than two hours in Britain would not be allowed to board flights to Hong Kong from any airport.

Authorities said the decision was based on the “recent rebound” of the pandemic in the UK and the “widespread Delta variant virus strain” in the country.

There are currently around eight daily non-stop flights from the UK to Hong Kong, all flying out of London.

Flights outbound from Hong Kong to the UK are not affected by the upcoming ban.

Hong Kong however confirmed its first local Delta variant only last week, ending a 16-day streak of zero local cases.