China has given final approval for quarantine-free travel between Hong Kong and Guangdong province even as the Omicron coronavirus variant has the world on edge, and the scheme will launch shortly after the city’s legislative election on December 19.
The government also revealed details on Thursday about the new health code app that will essentially generate a ticket to cross the mainland China border.
To be eligible for the scheme, which also covers Macau, residents must have been using the existing “Leave Home Safe” risk-exposure app for at least three weeks and the data recorded during that time will be made available to mainland authorities.
The health code app will be available to download on December 10, and residents can also choose to update their “Leave Home Safe” app from 9am that day, according to Secretary for Innovation and Technology Alfred Sit Wing-hang. The updated version will include a new function linking the app with the government’s website devoted to the health code app.
Once the information, including the past three weeks of recorded visits, has been uploaded to the webpage, it will generate a colour-coded QR code and the data sent to relevant government departments. Only the green-coloured code will be accepted by border officers.
