Hong Kong-mainland China border ‘to reopen earliest January 10, business and family needs prioritised for those coming into city’
- Sources say there will be no quota for travellers crossing over to mainland from Hong Kong, but the flow from the other way will be limited in light of city resources
- Mainland travellers coming to city will also need to produce negative Covid test result obtained 48 hours before entry
Hong Kong is set to reopen its border with mainland China on January 10 at the earliest with priority for travel to the city given to those with business and family needs, sources have said.
A mainland insider told the Post on Wednesday that while there would be no quota for those crossing Hong Kong’s land border into Shenzhen, all inbound travellers to the city from the mainland would be required to present a negative Covid-19 result from a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test done within 48 hours before arrival.
“In the first stage, knowing Hong Kong’s capacity, tourists will not be included for the time being,” the source said, revealing that central authorities would first allow people with business visas and family reunion needs to come to the city.
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More details of the long-awaited border reopening came to light hours after China’s National Immigration Administration announced it would start issuing tourist and business visas to allow Chinese nationals to enter Hong Kong on January 8.
The current 3,500-quota system for Hongkongers heading to the mainland would go “offline” on the same day, in what a local government source said was preparation for gradual border reopening.
While Hong Kong authorities are ironing out arrangements, the city’s medical experts have called for vaccination requirements for incoming cross-border travellers, to prevent the local healthcare system from being overwhelmed. China is facing its worst coronavirus wave amid a pivot from its long-held, zero-Covid policy.
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University of Hong Kong microbiologist Ho Pak-leung advocated prioritising triple-vaccinated travellers from the mainland.
“If you want to add another layer of protection … if we can ensure that mainlanders who are coming to Hong Kong are vaccinated with three doses when the borders are first opened, this would be the most secure option,” Ho told a radio programme on Wednesday.
Respiratory medicine expert Leung Chi-chiu also suggested that travellers from the mainland fulfil a two-jab minimum requirement to protect high-risk travellers such as the elderly.
Beijing on Monday night said it would start lifting coronavirus restrictions from January 8, including scrapping centralised quarantine and tests on arrival for overseas travellers, while doing away with the need for visitors to apply to Chinese embassies for a health code before departure.
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Passengers who test positive on arrival and experience mild symptoms can isolate at home. The new entry regime will only require travellers to undergo a PCR test up to 48 hours before entering the mainland.
Confirming the tentative border reopening date with Hong Kong as January 10, a second mainland source said that by then, direct bus services connecting Shenzhen Bay and Shenzhen’s Liantang Xiangyuanwei Port would resume and passengers could also go by rail to Luohu and Futian checkpoints to enter Shenzhen without quarantine.
But he said the resumption of the Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong high-speed rail link might come slightly later on January 15, as rail checks required “a lot of work”.
“If we are fortunate enough that all inspections are smooth, the date can move forward,” he said.
He added that rail operations would launch with short-distance routes to Guangzhou and Shenzhen and long ones to Beijing and Shanghai, while the service from West Kowloon station to Guangzhou East station was likely to only return after Lunar New Year as the latter was under renovation.
