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A Hong Kong government delegation met with Chinese officials on Sunday to discuss the possibility of resuming non-quarantine travel between the city and the mainland.
The group was led by Hong Kong Chief Administrative Secretary John Lee, and also included the city’s Secretary of Food and Health and members of the Government’s Science Advisory Group.
The delegation was hosted by the Chinese Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Bureau and took place in Shenzhen, according to a Hong Kong government statement released on Sunday evening.
The statement said Huang Liuquan, deputy director of the office, “attaches great importance” to Hong Kong Managing Director Carrie Lam’s request to travel without quarantine with the mainland, but did not provide further details. on when or how it might resume.
The Hong Kong government has made reopening with the mainland, which is a major source of tourism and retail revenue, a priority. He has avoided any reopening of international borders for a strict zero Covid strategy, which he hopes will convince continental authorities to reopen its borders upon city arrivals.
Hong Kong’s travel and quarantine measures, which are among the strictest in the world, have reduced cases to a minimum, with the city recording a total of just over 12,000 cases since the start of the pandemic.
Mainland experts attending the meeting acknowledged Hong Kong’s efforts to keep locally acquired Covid cases at or near zero. The statement added that the two sides will hold a second meeting as soon as possible to further discuss “the resumption of travel without quarantine in a gradual and orderly manner.”
Earlier this month, the Hong Kong government announced that it would allow 2,000 mainland arrivals every day to enter the city without having to undergo quarantine. Most newcomers to the city are required to spend at least 14 days in a designated hotel upon arrival, increasing to 21 days for arrivals from areas considered high risk.
However, those traveling to the mainland from Hong Kong still have to undergo a quarantine, which in most cases lasts at least 14 days.
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