Coronavirus: room exists to further ease testing for Hong Kong, mainland China cross-border travellers, CY Leung says, while expert proposes review
- Leung, now a vice-chairman of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, points to caseloads being kept at bay despite border reopening and festive break
- HKU medicine dean Dr Wallace Lau suggests review in fortnight
There is room for scaling back testing requirements for cross-border travellers between Hong Kong and mainland China, a former leader of the city has said, while a health expert has proposed reviewing the arrangement in two weeks.
Leung Chun-ying, now a vice-chairman of national advisory body the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, on Saturday told a radio programme that Covid-19 cases in Hong Kong had so far been kept at bay despite gatherings throughout the Lunar New Year period and the mainland reopening its border earlier this month.
“[A surge in infections] has not happened and today is already the seventh day [of Lunar New Year],” he noted.
Hong Kong’s daily caseload has hovered between 2,000 and 2,700 since Sunday – a drop of more than 10,000 recorded earlier in the month.
The city logged 3,480 infections on Saturday, taking the total to 2,872,823, as well as 33 related deaths, putting the tally at 13,313.
“I believe that after Lunar New Year … relevant authorities from both sides will continue to relax quarantine policies and arrangements on the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests,” Leung said, before calling on residents to visit the mainland and resume exchanges.
Following the latest round of eased curbs in Hong Kong and the mainland, travellers currently crossing the border to either side are required to undergo a PCR test 48 hours before departure under a daily quota.
