Sharp rise in Hong Kong residents heading across the border to flee from Covid-19 surge
- Tired of city’s pandemic restrictions, those going away say they need a break, don’t mind quarantine
- Almost 4,000 leaving daily for mainland and elsewhere this month, up from 1,680 in November
Taking two suitcases with them, Joe Pun, his wife and daughter left Hong Kong for mainland China on Wednesday, walking across the Shenzhen Bay border checkpoint.
The 40-year-old Hongkonger says the family used to make regular visits to Shenzhen, where they have a second home, but the Covid-19 pandemic and ensuing travel restrictions kept them in Hong Kong.
Pun used to own a restaurant, while his wife stayed at home to care for their 2½-year-old daughter.
As the city’s economy suffered a battering through this year, he was forced out of business recently. Pandemic restrictions also meant his toddler had to stay home from the nursery she attended.
After Hong Kong was hit by a fourth wave of Covid-19 infections in late November, Pun decided to take his family to the mainland, and was prepared for the mandatory two weeks of quarantine upon arrival there.
“The pandemic situation in Hong Kong is too serious. We want to stay safe elsewhere until it is over,” he says.
Pun and his family are among an increasing number of Hongkongers who have left for the mainland, especially since the surge in new infections recently, with daily confirmed cases topping 100. There have been more than 7,200 confirmed cases and 114 related deaths in Hong Kong as of Friday.
