BEIJING • China will resume quarantine-free travel with Macau, as the city recovers from its worst-ever Covid-19 outbreak, in a move that may herald a tourism revival for casinos that have been bleeding cash for months.

This comes as Hong Kong's leader John Lee and his team met yesterday to discuss reducing mandatory hotel quarantine for overseas arrivals.

Macau's border with the neighbouring Chinese city of Zhuhai was to reopen from 6pm yesterday, local media TDM reported.

The announcement came after Macau eliminated community transmission, meeting China's requirement for resuming quarantine-free travel. China, which adheres to a zero-tolerance policy and is the largest source of Macau's tourism, shut its border with the city on June 22.

In Hong Kong, Mr Lee was not expected to make a final decision on the duration of hotel quarantine at yesterday's meeting.

Earlier this week, Mr Lee told the Hong Kong Economic Journal that the government would soon announce reducing the number of required days of hotel quarantine, though he did not give further details.

The government is considering reducing hotel quarantine for arrivals to five days or less, from seven days, Secretary for Health Lo Chung-mau said in an interview with Now TV on Saturday.

Arrivals will be required to use a so-called yellow health code and refrain from visiting high-risk places, and may also have to complete rapid antigen tests every two days. Hong Kong still has some of the most stringent quarantine requirements in the world, in line with China's zero-Covid policy.

The Asian financial hub on Tuesday reported 4,123 new Covid-19 infections, including 234 imported cases.

BLOOMBERG