Nicole Kidman granted controversial exemption from Hong Kong's strict 7-day quarantine rules, reports say

• Nicole Kidman was given permission to skip strict quarantine restrictions in Hong Kong.
• Local media reported that Kidman is in the city to film a new show for Amazon, "Expats."
• Kidman traveled from Sydney, Australia, which just registered its biggest one-day rise in Covid cases.

Nicole Kidman was granted an exemption by the government of Hong Kong to skip strict mandatory quarantine requirements to film a new Amazon TV series, "Expats," local media has reported.

The 54-year-old Australian actress landed in Hong Kong from Sydney, Australia, last Thursday, according to The Hong Kong Free Press. Although the city has a seven-day mandatory quarantine for travelers coming in from Australia, Kidman was spotted shopping at a boutique in Central Hong Kong two days later, the report said.

It prompted anger in the local press about the Hollywood star's ability to skip the city's mandatory quarantine requirements.

While Hong Kong currently requires all fully vaccinated inbound travelers from Australia to quarantine in a designated hotel for seven days, later this week, the requirement will rise to 14 days due to rising cases of the Delta variant in Australia. Inbound travelers from countries on the city's "high risk" list, including the UK and Brazil are required to self-isolate in a designated hotel for up to 21 days.

In response to mounting criticism, Hong Kong's Commerce and Economic Development Bureau released a statement on Thursday that confirmed Kidman had been "granted permission to travel to Hong Kong with a quarantine exemption" for the "purpose of performing designated professional work."

The statement said the work in question was "conducive to maintaining the necessary operation and development of Hong Kong's economy."

Insider reached out to a rep for Kidman, but didn't immediately hear back.

"Personnel granted such an exemption must comply with designated disease prevention measures and other conditions to minimize any transmission risk and contact with the public," the statement added.

Multiple local publications have reported that the exception was given to Kidman to allow her to shoot an upcoming Amazon television series called "The Expats," an adaptation of the popular novel "The Expatriates" by the Hong Kong-born writer Janice Y.K. Lee.

Lulu Wang, the writer and director of 2019's "The Farewell," is the series showrunner and director. Jack Huston ("Fargo") and Sarayu Blue ("Grey's Anatomy") are also set to star.

This isn't the first time the "Nine Perfect Strangers" star was involved in controversy surrounding COVID.

She and her husband, country singer Keith Urban, received an exemption for a hotel quarantine (instead undergoing a home quarantine) from Australia's New South Wales when they flew into Sydney in June 2020, said The Hollywood Reporter. Criticism followed in the press.