HK to allow non-residents entry after over two years of isolation

HONG KONG • Hong Kong will allow non-residents to enter the financial hub from May for the first time in more than two years, a small step in unwinding stringent coronavirus restrictions which have turned the city into one of the world's most isolated places.

The city's rules for airlines that carry infected Covid-19 patients will also be eased slightly, the government said in a statement yesterday, with the threshold for suspending incoming flights rising to five infected passengers from three currently.

A ban on individual airline routes will be shortened to five days from seven. Foreign travellers will be subject to the same procedure as residents, the government said, according to a Reuters report.

Hong Kong's Food and Health Bureau said the decision to reopen to tourists came in the wake of a review by a government steering committee, the South China Morning Post reported.

"Considering the development of the pandemic… and balancing the society's call for resuming social activities and economic development, the committee thinks that there is room for appropriate adjustment, while maintaining the measures for preventing imported infections," it said.

The government also said that it was aware of opinions that the old approach had been "too harsh, leading to suspensions of different routes and easily disrupting the itineraries of people coming back to Hong Kong".

The announcement comes as the city reports daily infections of under 1,000 for more than a week - from a peak of more than 70,000 on March 3.

Hong Kong's borders have essentially been closed since early 2020, with very few flights and weeks-long quarantine for arrivals.

Most flights currently landing in Hong Kong, which prides itself on being the East-meets-West gateway, are from mainland China and a few other Asian cities.

Eleven flight routes were banned this week from airlines including Cathay Pacific, Emirates, Qantas, and KLM, according to government records.

There have been more than 70 flight bans so far this year. Some carriers, including British Airways and Virgin Atlantic Airways, are not taking bookings for flights to the former British colony until later in the year.

The Chinese territory lifted a ban on flights arriving from nine countries, including the United States and Britain, on April 1 and cut quarantine for residents to seven days from 14, but the still stringent criteria mean that few flights can operate in what was once one of the world's busiest transit hubs.

The end of the entry ban was partially motivated by data which showed that of all the infections recorded between January and March, only 3 per cent were imported. This proportion fell to 1 per cent for cases logged since April 1, the South China Morning Post reported.

Hong Kong has followed mainland China in implementing a "dynamic zero" coronavirus policy which aims to curb all outbreaks.

Thousands of residents trying to return to Hong Kong have been hit by last-minute cancellations, leaving them scrambling to find alternative routes while ensuring they can secure their quarantine hotel room amid tight supply.

Hong Kong reopened gyms, beauty parlours, theme parks and cinemas on Thursday for the first time in more than four months.

Decisions on wider easing will likely be left to Chief Executive Carrie Lam's successor John Lee when he takes over in July after an uncontested election, a person familiar with the plan told Bloomberg News.