China announced on Friday that cross-border travel between the mainland, Hong Kong, and Macau would completely resume on February 6, eliminating all remaining limits and doing away with the requirement to take the COVID-19 test in order to travel.
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China’s Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office announced on its website that group trips between the mainland and its two special administrative regions will resume and the number of open customs checkpoints would return to pre-pandemic levels.
According to the announcement, visitors from the two special administrative regions who haven’t been abroad in the preceding week won’t require a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test report.
For those who have just returned from abroad, except children under 3 years old, a negative PCR test report completed 48 hours before departure from Hong Kong or Macau is still necessary.
Those who get a fever while traveling ought to get examined right away. If their test results are positive, they must be isolated at home or another specified location or receive medical attention in a hospital.
Travelers between the Chinese mainland and Hong Kong are still subject to quotas and COVID testing requirements even though China’s borders were once again opened to the outside world on January 8.
John Lee, the leader of Hong Kong, announced during a news conference on Friday that the three border checkpoints that have not yet reopened will do so on February 6.
In addition, Hong Kong will no longer require COVID vaccinations for all incoming visitors, even those who are not Hong Kong residents, Lee continued.
Following the news, searches for round-trip flights between Hong Kong and the mainland on the Chinese travel website Qunar multiplied seven times on Friday, according to data from the official China Transportation News.
After more than three years of COVID curbs, Hong Kong launched a promotion campaign the day before, offering 500,000 free flights in an effort to entice travelers, companies, and investors back to the financial center.