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Editorial | Travel corridor between Hong Kong and Macau will be an important step
- Creating such a link with Macau has advantages for Hong Kong in formulating a strategy to eventually open to the wider world in the pandemic’s wake
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Travel and trade are the lifeblood of developed economies. The Covid-19 pandemic has put paid to both to varying degrees, but Hong Kong and its neighbours in southern China have enviable records when it comes to weathering the crisis.
Preparedness, tight border controls and vigilance have been the hallmarks of preventive strategies, resulting in low numbers that have enabled the gradual lifting of restrictions. With an eye on alertness, the time has come for authorities to prepare for the next stage of relaxation by allowing people to move easily between the region’s cities.
Hong Kong and Macau are the natural first choices to implement a safe travel corridor. There have been only four deaths from the coronavirus in Hong Kong and none in Macau. A fresh spate of local infections is cause for concern, but not alarm; as long as there is stringent testing, quarantining and monitoring, general outbreaks can be kept in check.
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Both cities are important to the other for economic needs and tourism, but lifting restrictions would also help improve day-to-day lives.
All travel permit holders arriving in Hong Kong from Macau and mainland China have to self-quarantine for 14 days after arrival. The Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania implemented Europe’s first travel corridor or “bubble” on Friday, enabling people from the three to move freely across borders, although outsiders are still required to self-isolate for 14 days. France has had such an exemption for European Union nations, while Australia and New Zealand are considering a safe zone.
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