Opinion | Hong Kong’s Covid-19 policy and reopening road map must be clear and manage expectations

Hong Kong has taken a step towards reopening with the axing of mandatory hotel quarantine for overseas arrivals. This is encouraging news and flight prices have soared. Hong Kong, compared to Southeast Asia, still has a way to go to catch up with the region’s opening up, but there is at least hope now that the city will soon return to normal.

Three years after Covid-19 hit, with most developed economies back in operation, Hong Kong is under enormous pressure to reopen its borders. Politicians and business leaders have repeatedly urged the government to lift restrictions so Hong Kong can live up to President Xi Jinping’s expectations as an international financial centre and a gateway between China and the rest of the world. Government officials had repeatedly responded that opening up depended on the vaccination and infection rates.

The official hesitancy reflected the dilemma Hong Kong faced between reopening its border with the zero-Covid-policy mainland, and the rest of the world living with Covid-19. It has also led to a deterioration of expectations among the public and the business community.

A recent consequence was the initial cancellation of the Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon, after official approval failed to arrive in time. Though the organisers later decided to move it to next year instead, after communication from the government, the incident reflected a lack of public confidence in Hong Kong’s reopening.

Similarly, the Royal Caribbean cruise line has reportedly lost patience after waiting for official permission to relaunch its “cruise to nowhere” service, and may now move it elsewhere. This has raised concerns in Hong Kong’s travel industry. Singapore and the rest of Southeast Asia have thrown open their doors to tourists, but in Hong Kong, there is still no clear sign as to when normality will return.

Without a clear plan and targets, the government’s repeated urging of the public to get vaccinated does not help the city achieve its goals. The science is clear that vaccination lessens the risk of severe Covid-19 and death. But after two years of pushing for ever-higher vaccination rates while keeping the city firmly closed, the authorities are hardly burnishing their reputation as promise keepers.