Hong Kong’s health minister has expressed hope the city will lift more of its remaining coronavirus curbs after Lunar New Year , adding authorities would soon begin the next phase of reopening the border with mainland China. The further easing of restrictions was set to go ahead even as Covid-19 cases were expected to surge after the holiday period, Secretary for Health Lo Chung-mau said, explaining the city had a “better immunity barrier” against the virus and a well-equipped healthcare system. “The remaining measures are expected to be relaxed progressively and orderly. The sooner the better. We are very hopeful the relaxation will come after Lunar New Year,” he said on a radio programme that aired on Monday. “But I must emphasise … we are not giving up on fighting the pandemic.” But Lo stopped short of saying what measures would be rolled back in the pre-recorded interview. Curbs still in effect include a mask mandate in most public places, as well as testing requirements for schoolchildren and anyone entering care homes. The government earlier said it would lift isolation orders for virus patients from January 30, after the mainland in December rolled back its “dynamic zero-Covid” strategy. Authorities that month also dropped the city’s vaccine pass and a cap on more than 12 people gathering in one space. City leader John Lee Ka-chiu had said he aimed to remove mask rules in March at the earliest if there was no rebound in cases. Government pandemic advisers suggested authorities, after winter, should only require face coverings to be worn on public transport and in medical institutions. ‘Lift Hong Kong Covid mask mandate for outdoors after winter flu surge’ On the second day of the Year of the Rabbit, Hong Kong recorded 2,271 new coronavirus infections – the lowest daily tally in six months – including 41 imported cases. Health officials also reported an additional 49 deaths. Caseloads have continued to drop in the past three weeks from nearly 20,000 in early January. Hong Kong scrapped polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests on arrival at the airport on December 29 and lowered the CT value used by the city’s laboratories to identify infected patents from January 16 to align with levels used by the mainland. The occupancy rate of beds in public hospitals was 84 per cent, according to the Hospital Authority on Monday. The number of elderly Covid-19 patients staying in specific residential care homes in the past week dropped by half to 361 from 723 recorded the week before. Health minister Lo also said authorities were optimistic about reopening more control points along the border with the mainland. Three of the city’s land-based checkpoints along the border – Lo Wu, Sha Tau Kok and the Lok Ma Chau vehicle crossing – have yet to fully resume services for travellers. The port at Heung Yuen Wai is at present only open to cargo. “In making each step, we have been closely monitoring the data to review the capacity of the border points,” Lo said, adding officials had maintained close contact with their counterparts across the border. “If feasible, we will speed up the second stage of the border reopening as much as possible.” The Immigration Department recorded 50,455 arrivals to the city on the first day of the Lunar New Year holiday, with the highest amount, 18,575, landing at the airport. Authorities registered 106,421 departures that day, with most, 32,935 people, also opting to leave by the airport. ‘Hong Kong aims to scrap or ease Covid testing rule for cross-border travellers’ For travellers between the city and the mainland, the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge was the most popular land crossing on the first day of Lunar New Year, just ahead of the Lok Ma Chau Spur Line. The Immigration Department on Sunday logged 34,651 travellers on the bridge and 29,091 on the spur line covering both directions. Passenger numbers for the high-speed rail link jumped by nearly 60 per cent in the week since its relaunch, from 8,448 travellers on January 15 to 13,356 on Sunday. Anyone travelling between Hong Kong and the mainland at present must show proof of a negative result from a PCR test taken within 48 hours of departure. A day before Lo’s interview aired, Hong Kong’s No 2 official said authorities were seeking to ease the cross-border travel regime to instead accept rapid antigen test (RAT) results, or scrap the requirement altogether. Hong Kong’s single-parent cross-border families in daily struggle for food A cap on the number of people allowed to travel between the city and the mainland could also be axed if the epidemic situation remained “stable” after the Lunar New Year break, Chief Secretary Eric Chan Kwok-ki added. A daily quota of 50,000 travellers can travel either way using four of the city’s land ports near the border with mainland China, including two that reopened on January 8. The limit was raised to 65,000 for the four days running up to the Lunar New Year holiday to cope with an expected surge in demand. Travel Industry Council chairwoman Gianna Hsu Wong Mei-lun on Monday suggested the sector could consider expanding the market by offering school and study trips to Hong Kong. Hsu added that the problem of accommodation could be solved by converting sections of the city’s emergency Covid-19 hospitals into inexpensive lodgings.