Hong Kong plans to scrap flight ban on 9 countries on April 1

Hong Kong plans to loosen up some anti-Covid measures subsequent month. That features lifting a ban on flights from 9 international locations, lowering quarantine time for arrivals from overseas and reopening faculties.

The strikes, introduced on Monday by Chief Govt Carrie Lam, might quieten some criticism from residents who’ve change into more and more pissed off with the town’s stringent measures, a few of which have been in place for over two years.

The flight ban could be lifted from April 1, whereas resort quarantine for arrivals may very well be minimize to seven days from 14 if residents examined destructive, Lam instructed a information briefing. She had beforehand mentioned measures could be in place till April 20.

Colleges would resume face-to-face lessons from April 19, after the Easter holidays, whereas public venues together with sports activities amenities would additionally reopen from April 21, she mentioned.

Hong Kong’s border has successfully been shut since 2020, with only a few flights capable of land and hardly any passengers allowed to transit, successfully isolating a metropolis that had constructed a status as a world monetary hub.

The ban had made it very tough for residents to return to the Chinese language-ruled territory, with many spending time often known as “washing out” in different international locations for 2 weeks earlier than being allowed to return.

The foundations, along with fixed blended messaging from the federal government, together with over whether or not a citywide lockdown and mass testing would happen, have triggered an exodus of residents previously two months.

Web outflows present greater than 54,000 folks have left Hong Kong to date in March, in contrast with greater than 71,000 in February and almost 17,000 in December earlier than the fifth wave of the pandemic hit, prompting fears for the town’s longer-term competitiveness.

Companies and the town’s economic system are reeling from widespread closures, whereas docs say lots of the metropolis’s 7.4 million residents are grappling with rising psychological well being points, notably amongst low-income households.

A plan to hold out mass coronavirus testing could be placed on maintain, Lam mentioned, citing consultants who mentioned it was not an appropriate time.

Whereas the previous British colony has formally caught to the “dynamic zero” coronavirus coverage, much like mainland China, which seeks to curb all outbreaks, it has been shifting to mitigation methods as deaths skyrocketed.

Hong Kong has registered essentially the most deaths per million folks globally in latest weeks — greater than 24 occasions that of rival Singapore — owing to a big proportion of aged individuals who had been unvaccinated because the extremely transmissible omicron variant ripped via care properties since February.

The densely packed metropolis has recorded greater than 1 million infections for the reason that pandemic began and about 5,000 deaths — most of them previously month.

As many as 4 million folks may very well be contaminated, in response to estimates from well being consultants, as many residents have contracted the virus and remoted at dwelling with out notifying authorities.