Authorities in China's Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR) announced Tuesday that the city will lift strict restrictions on individual travel from the mainland and Macao. Experts said this is a significant move to open amid the COVID-19 pandemic, and it could offer a boost to the city's virus-stricken economy since arrivals from the Chinese mainland account for the majority of tourists and visitors to Hong Kong, meanwhile it will also expedite the economic integration of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area.
Chief Executive of Hong Kong Carrie Lam said at weekly press briefing that the SAR government has rolled out the "Come2HK" scheme, which offer quarantine-free entry to non-Hong Kong residents from the Chinese mainland and Macao SAR.
Hong Kong will allow up to 1,000 visitors to cross the border every day at both Shenzhen Bay Port and the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge Hong Kong Port.
Meanwhile, Lam announced the "Return2HK," a scheme that allows Hong Kong residents to return from the mainland without going through quarantine. The scheme was suspended in early August due to the epidemic flare-ups in some mainland localities.
