Hong Kong will allow non-residents into the financial center from May for the first time in more than two years – in a small step towards dismantling the coronavirus restrictions that have made the city one of the most isolated places in the world.
Rules for airlines carrying Covid-19 infected patients will also be slightly relaxed, the government said in a statement released on Friday, with the threshold for suspending landings rising to five infected passengers, as opposed to three. currently allowed.
The ban on individual air routes will be reduced from seven days to five.
Foreign travelers will be subject to the same procedures as residents, the government said.
The announcement comes at a time when daily infections have been below 1,000 for more than a week, after peaking at 70,000 on March 3.
Hong Kong’s borders have essentially been closed since early 2020, with very few flights and weeks-long quarantines after arrivals.
Most flights landing in Hong Kong, which prides itself on being the gateway between West and East, come from Mainland China and a few other Asian cities.
Eleven flight routes were banned this week, including airlines such as Cathay Pacific, Emirates, Qantas and KLM, according to government records. There are more than 70 flights banned this year so far.
The former British colony lifted a ban on flights arriving from nine countries, including the US and UK, on April 1, and eased the quarantine for residents from 14 days to seven, but the still strict criteria mean few flights can operate in what was once one of the busiest places in the world.
Hong Kong has followed Mainland China in implementing a dynamic “zero coronavirus” policy, which aims to contain all outbreaks.
Thousands of residents trying to return to Hong Kong were impacted by last-minute cancellations, leaving them looking for alternative routes while ensuring they could keep their hotel rooms for quarantine amid low availability.
Hong Kong opened fitness centers, beauty salons, amusement parks and cinemas on Thursday for the first time in more than four months.
Source: CNN Brasil
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