Coronavirus: quarantine-free scheme for mainland set to resume ‘soon’, as Hong Kong records 0 cases for first time in over a month

Plans to grant entry to residents – and visitors – from mainland China without isolation period will move forward quickly once outbreak across border stabilises, Carrie Lam says

While no new Covid-19 cases confirmed on Thursday, five preliminary-positive tests mean a streak unlikely to start

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Visitors from mainland China will be able to come to Hong Kong without quarantine ‘soon’, Carrie Lam has told a Communist Party publication. Photo: May Tse

Published: 4:02pm, 2 Sep 2021Updated: 10:16pm, 2 Sep 2021

Hong Kong confirmed no new Covid-19 infections for the first time in more than a month on Thursday, a day after the city’s leader revealed that a suspended quarantine-free travel scheme allowing residents to return home from mainland China would soon resume.

Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor told a Communist Party publication that in addition to bringing Hongkongers home, a separate scheme designed to lure visitors to the city would also be launched “as soon as possible” once an outbreak on the mainland had stabilised.

That plan would eventually extend beyond locations in neighbouring Guangdong province to cities such as Shanghai, she said.

“The Hong Kong government has been tightly monitoring the pandemic … and actively looking at ways to resume residents’ normal travel in an orderly way without increasing the public health risks to both places,” Lam said.

The city last reported no new coronavirus cases on July 31, though the rare occurrence is unlikely to extend beyond one day, as about five people tested preliminary-positive for the virus on Thursday. The local infection count now stands at 12,113, with 212 related deaths.

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