According to Hong Kong media reports, Lee Ka-chao, Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, held a press conference on the afternoon of the 28th of this month for the "Guidance and Coordination Group for Epidemic Response". Li Jiachao announced that from tomorrow (29th), the SAR government will no longer define close contacts of confirmed cases, and cancel the "vaccine pass" arrangement. Li Jiachao mentioned that all post-entry nucleic acid tests will be cancelled, and all social distance measures, including gathering restrictions and other upper limit on the number of people entering the venue, will also be cancelled. According to the new regulations, people arriving in Hong Kong from overseas, the mainland, Macau and Taiwan will not be required to undergo nucleic acid testing on or after their arrival in Hong Kong tomorrow (29th). Li Jiachao said that the current "mask order" remains unchanged.
Li Jiachao explained that the cancellation of multiple epidemic prevention measures is because the government considers that the new crown vaccine vaccination rate in the society as a whole is quite high, and the society has established a wider epidemic prevention barrier; Hong Kong also has sufficient and effective anti-epidemic drugs. During the 3-year anti-epidemic period, it has accumulated rich experience in responding to the epidemic. At the same time, the Hospital Authority has strengthened the emergency response system and medical system, and the use of resources, response capabilities, and load capacity have been strengthened; Good self-defense.
Li Jiachao said that he believes that these optimization measures will bring Hong Kong back to normal and promote the society to move and live. The SAR government will closely monitor the development of the epidemic, continue to optimize measures, and fully resume daily operations.
The National Immigration Administration issued an announcement on December 27 announcing that immigration management policies and measures will be optimized from January 8, 2023. Resume the acceptance and approval of ordinary passports for Chinese citizens traveling abroad or visiting friends in an orderly manner, and resume the processing of visas for mainland residents traveling to Hong Kong for travel and business.
Hong Kong Customs previously posted on social media that Hong Kong Customs has made preparations at various port control points to welcome the full return of customs clearance, so that various cross-border activities between Hong Kong and the Mainland will gradually be orderly. Among them, customs officers at the high-speed rail West Kowloon Station port are conducting customs affairs drills, checking epidemic prevention equipment, and correcting customs clearance facilities.
Li Zijing, a member of Hong Kong's Legislative Council, believes that the news of customs clearance is good for Hong Kong's economy, especially the financial, retail and catering industries. He hopes that after customs clearance, more mainland residents will come to Hong Kong to revitalize the tourism industry. It is also reported that the Director of the Hong Kong Medical and Health Bureau, Lu Chongmao, said at a press conference on the 28th that the government will not provide free government vaccines to non-Hong Kong residents who come to Hong Kong for a short period of time. Chief editor of
column: Hong Junjie Text editor: Hong Junjie
Source: Author: Zhenhe
