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China announced on Friday that as of midnight on February 6, it will open its borders to people entering the country from Hong Kong and Macau.
The authorities are also scrapping previously existing requirements for, among other things, covid testing and restrictions on the number of people allowed into the country.
Already at the beginning of January, China lifted the previously strict quarantine requirements and eased the harsh border restrictions that have prevailed for the past three years regarding travel between Hong Kong and the Chinese mainland. 50,000 Hongkongers were then allowed to cross the border daily after first registering their trip online, while 10,000 were allowed to enter the country by air or boat without any registration requirement.
That the border with the mainland now opens is expected to give a much-needed boost to the tourism sector – and during Thursday, Hong Kong’s leader John Lee also promised over half a million free flights to attract tourists back.
Lee promised that there would be “no isolation, no quarantine and no restrictions” for visitors – and that a further 80,000 tickets will be offered to residents over the summer.
China abruptly ended its strict zero-covid policy in December, when demands for mass testing, lockdowns and special quarantine in authorities’ custody were dropped.