Mar 10: Path to Reducing Travel Restrictions / Opening Borders

[shri]

Picked this bit up from today's CE press conference via ST.

The current pathway to normalcy seems to be as follows:

- Bring current wave under control.
- CUT i.e. Test the f' out of everyone.
- Open China border - assuming that China is not battling its own Omicron issues
- Then at some point open up other air routes (esp ones which are restricted)

From this, it appears that April 20th is pretty much a no-go as far as people waiting to return from restricted countries is concerned. Not like there is any available capacity in the few hotels that have not been converted to quarantine hotels or closed-loop hotels for mainland / elderly care / QE medical staff.

Does this mean there will be increased pressure from these countries to wash out in places like BKK and SGP?

Mrs. Lam said that the epidemic situation in Hong Kong is serious and the number of confirmed cases is a hundred times higher than most in the past, far exceeding the relevant response capacity.

She said the government has plans to allow people from the mainland or the country to come to Hong Kong after the fifth wave of the epidemic is under control and the completion of universal mandatory testing.

https://std.stheadline.com/realtime/article/1817194/

[shri]

Translated in The Standard.

Meanwhile, speaking at a daily news conference on the pandemic, the Chief Executive said Hong Kong will reopen the city only after the government controls the coronavirus outbreaks.

She said it was not the time to lift the flight bans from nine countries, including the United States and Britain.

"This is not the time to lift the ban. A lot of people will rush to come back...there will be infected cases, and that will add a lot of pressure to our public hospital system," Lam said.

Once the fifth wave is under control, preferably after mass testing contains any lingering routes of transmission, "we will certainly have plans or a pathway to open up Hong Kong again for our own people and for the international travel," she added.

https://www.thestandard.com.hk/break...tion/4/187971/