Editorial | Caution best route to take as reopening of border draws near
- As Hong Kong ends most of its Covid-19 restrictions in line with mainland China, care must be taken to reduce risks and protect the public healthcare system
Having fought Covid-19 with the toughest measures in the world for three years, there is no better way for Hong Kong to ring in the new year than to scrap most of its restrictions.
To many who have been longing for life to return to normal, the latest moves – the most significant yet since the onslaught of the crisis – are long overdue.
It remains to be seen whether such steps, which follow the abrupt change of strategy on the mainland, spell final victory over the contagion, but it seems too premature just yet.
With tens of thousands of infections reported each day, few expected the government to take such dramatic steps.
They include the end of the mandatory polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests for arrivals, vaccine pass scheme, quarantine for patients’ close contacts and compulsory testing orders at blocks of flats.
Social-distancing restrictions, business curbs and a ban on public gatherings have also gone.
