‘3 more Hong Kong-mainland crossings to reopen; quotas, Covid tests to be axed’

The opening of the Heung Yuen Wai control point for travellers will also mark its first commission since it opened in 2020. Because of the pandemic restrictions, only the cargo division was opened since 2020.

On Wednesday, interdepartmental drills were carried out at the three checkpoints to prepare for the reopening.

Four other crossings reopened on January 8 – the Lok Ma Chau spur line checkpoint, Man Kam To, the Macau Ferry Terminal in Sheung Wan and Hong Kong China Ferry Terminal in Tsim Sha Tsui.

Just three control points never closed for the pandemic – those at Shenzhen Bay Port, the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge and Hong Kong International Airport.

Quarantine-free travel between Hong Kong and the mainland resumed on January 8, but travellers are required to present a negative result from a polymerase chain reaction test conducted within 48 hours before departure.

The number of travellers heading each way via four land border checkpoints, including two that reopened on January 8, is capped at 50,000.

The number of daily northbound and southbound tickets for high-speed rail travel, which resumed on January 15, was raised from 20,000 to 30,000 on Monday. As many as 10,000 travellers are also allowed to arrive via planes, ferries and a bridge connecting Hong Kong, Macau and Zhuhai.

Chief Secretary Eric Chan Kwok-ki on Sunday said he had been talking with mainland authorities during the New Year holiday about the next phase of the border reopening.

The latest relaxation marked another step for the city to progress towards normality after about three years of strict pandemic control measures.

Authorities dropped all social-distancing measures on December 29 and the mandatory isolation policy for Covid-19 patients on January 30.

Only two major anti-epidemic measures remain in place – the mask mandate and mandatory testing for overseas arrivals, which must be done before departure, students and care home residents.