Hong Kong to discuss increasing hotel quarantine quota with mainland side to allow more residents to cross border
- Health minister says mainland China’s new quarantine rules will allow it to open up to international travellers
- A top infectious disease expert has warned of flu and Covid outbreak in January next year, urging residents to get vaccinated
Hong Kong’s health minister has said the government will discuss increasing the quarantine hotel quota with mainland Chinese authorities to allow more travellers to take advantage of the relaxed Covid-19 measures across the border.
Secretary for Health Lo Chung-mau was referring to the rule changes unveiled by the National Health Commission on Friday, which stated incoming visitors would serve five days of hotel quarantine, down from seven, followed by three in home isolation, under a “5+3” model, applicable also to those from Hong Kong.
Executive councillor Jeffrey Lam Kin-fung, a government adviser, on Saturday said Hong Kong businesses could further benefit from Beijing’s latest easing of Covid-19 arrival curbs if the Shenzhen quarantine quota for cross-border travellers from Hong Kong was raised from the current 1,000.
Asked to comment on the changes, Lo on Sunday said: “‘5+3’ has positive effects on cross-border travel between Hong Kong and the mainland, and it will also help the mainland to further open up to international arrivals.
“We will discuss with the mainland, especially with the Shenzhen government, on increasing the quota for quarantine hotels, so that more Hong Kong residents can return to the mainland.”
Wingco Lo Kam-wing, executive vice-president of the Chinese Manufacturers’ Association of Hong Kong, welcomed the secretary of health’s promise to discuss increasing the quarantine quota with mainland authorities.
Under the latest mainland adjustments, incoming travellers will only be classified as a positive case if their CT value is lower than 35, instead of 40. A lower CT value usually indicates a higher viral load and greater chance of infecting others.
