HONG KONG (Reuters) – Hong Kong is working to resume quarantine-free travel to and from mainland China by January 8 at the earliest, Secretary Eric Chan Kwokki said in a Facebook post on Sunday. rice field.
Zhang, a second city official, said quotas would be set in the first phase of a plan to limit the number of people who can travel between the city and the mainland.
“Borders will eventually be fully opened, based on the operation of the first phase scheme, increasing in size based on conditions,” he said.
The return of visitors from the mainland will give a big boost to Hong Kong’s hard-hit economy. China has closed its borders for most of her three years, and Hong Kong itself maintained the world’s toughest restrictions until late last year.
The frequency of sea, land and air transport will increase to meet commuter demand, and several previously closed checkpoints will resume operations, Chan said in a post.
Chan said he suggested travelers from both sides undergo a PCR test to confirm they were COVID-negative before making any trips to mitigate transmission. It is not immediately clear whether.
COVID infections have surged across China in recent weeks after Beijing abruptly began dismantling its stringent zero COVID policy in early December.
The 8 January date cited by Chan is the clearest indication to date that the Hong Kong government aims to resume quarantine-free cross-border travel after a three-year hiatus due to COVID. I’m here. Chief Executive John Lee said the border with mainland China would reopen by mid-January.read more
In a major step towards reopening borders, China will stop requiring inbound travelers to quarantine from 8 January.read more
Reported by Xie Yu.Edited by Kim Coghill
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