Hong Kong’s leader, John Lee Ka Chiu, said Saturday that he is planning to reopen the border with mainland China to allow quarantine-free travel from mid-January, after nearly three years closed due to the coronavirus pandemic crisis.
The announcement followed his meeting in Beijing with Chinese President Xi Jinping, his first since taking office in July. The borders — closed since mid-2020 — «will be fully opened in a gradual and orderly manner,» he announced.
Currently, visitors from Hong Kong are limited by a daily quota and must spend five days in quarantine in a hotel. Visitors from mainland China also have to pass quarantine on their return.
Lee’s team will hold talks with the local governments in Shenzhen and Guangzhou to formulate a plan to reopen the borders. Among the first issues to be studied will be the daily quota of travelers and the border checkpoints to be opened, Bloomberg details.
In recent weeks, Hong Kong has been removing much of the restrictions imposed to curb the pandemic, such as the ban on going to bars and restaurants for newcomers to the city, or the scanning of a QR code to access public spaces. The use of face masks remains mandatory.
Source: (EUROPA PRESS)
