Nicole Kidman Skipped A Mandatory Quarantine To Film In Hong Kong, But Hong Kong Says It’s Fine

I haven’t traveled much farther than 180 miles away from my house since the beginning of the pandemic, but I do know people who have, and there are some serious travel restrictions out there. Mandatory COVID-19 testing, proof of vaccines, agreeing to quarantine or isolate alone for two weeks. And if Vera Farmiga’s Instagram posts have taught me anything, it’s that traveling is a real bitch for a working actor who probably doesn’t have time to close themselves off in a hotel for two weeks after crossing a border. That is unless you’re Nicole Kidman. Nicole flew to Hong Kong to begin filming Expats for Amazon but skipped a mandatory quarantine. Even though Hong Kong has notoriously strict COVID-19 travel protocols, they’re okay with that.

According to CNN Business, if you want to fly into Hong Kong from a country they have deemed “medium” or “high risk,” you should be prepared to quarantine in a hotel for 14 to 21 days at your own expense. Some exceptions have been made, like for airline crew, or top business executives, who they believe are essential to keeping the economy going. But even then, some business people have still chosen to quarantine. Nicole flew into Hong Kong from her native Australia on August 12th. The land down under has recently seen a rise in COVID-19 cases, and as such, has put them squarely in Hong Kong’s medium risk category at the moment.

Earlier this week, Nicole landed in Hong Kong to film the Amazon series Expats, based on the 2016 book The Expatriates, about three American women living in Hong Kong. Nicole didn’t quarantine for at least 14 days. Nicole’s people didn’t return CNN’s request for a statement on the situation. But according to a statement from Hong Kong’s government, she does not need to quarantine because they consider her an important asset to their economy. At first, they played coy about which Hollywood actress was allowed to avoid their isolation protocols, but eventually, they gave up Nicole’s name. via CNN:

In a statement, the Hong Kong government said “the case in discussion has been granted permission to travel to Hong Kong with a quarantine exemption for the purpose of performing designated professional work.” It added that the move was “conducive to maintaining the necessary operation and development of Hong Kong’s economy.”

The government’s press office later told CNN that the person who had been exempted was Kidman.

Hong Kong is currently tightening its restrictions, which is why some citizens are upset that Nicole Kidman didn’t have to follow the rules. via CNN:

On Tuesday, the government scrapped a program that shortened quarantine for some incoming arrivals. Previously, vaccinated travelers from specific countries who had qualifying antibody test results could have their hotel quarantine cut to 7 days. Speaking to media on Tuesday, Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam apologized for those inconvenienced by the change and said it was being done to protect local people.

“So this proves that it is not an exact science to deal with Covid-19, we have to continuously review the situation with the experts and take into account their advice to design our policies,” Lam said.

Even with Hong Kong’s thumbs up for her arrival, some people still aren’t feeling Nicole’s work trip to Hong Kong. After she arrived, she was reportedly spotted out shopping and visiting locations for shooting, which is kind of the polar opposite of quarantining. And, some have called her choice to shoot in Hong Kong as “tone deaf,” due to many reports that free speech is banned or punished in Hong Kong.

This is also not the first time that Nicole has pissed people off for not quarantining. Last year, she and Keith Urban were allowed to skip Australia’s mandatory quarantine after they flew there from Tennessee to shoot her series Nine Perfect Strangers.

All that aside, I know a lot of people are side-eyeing her for not spending a single minute in quarantine but she’s legitimately a great assistance to the economy. Nicole Kidman’s skin is so smooth and flawless, and naturally, I assume she looks that way because she covers herself head to toe in SPF 80 every hour on the hour. Do you know how expensive that is? She probably sold out every store, boosting the economy by 7,000,000 HKD in one day.

Pic: Wenn.com