Coronavirus: travel bubble plan for Hong Kong, Macau and Guangdong province stalls over technical issues
- Carrie Lam says officials on all sides are trying to work around 14-day mandatory quarantine rules
- Travellers would also need health certificate showing they are free of coronavirus
Hong Kong’s plan to form a travel bubble with Macau and neighbouring Guangdong province on mainland China has stalled over technical issues.
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“Now the problem is not just on our side, because the mainland authorities have also imposed a 14-day mandatory quarantine requirement since the end of April,” she said. “So we have to find a way to overcome both sets of quarantine before people can readily travel again. A lot of work has been done on that front, including the health code.”
Lam also said: “There are certain technical issues to overcome and [considerations on] the number of people allowed to cross the border every day.”
The Hong Kong side hoped to implement the travel bubble “as soon as possible”, she added, but challenges remained.
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A source familiar with the matter said the health code system was ready, and 14 private hospitals and laboratories in Hong Kong had applied to join the scheme to offer Covid-19 testing recognised by the authorities.
The source explained that the mutual exemption of quarantine on both sides was “beyond a negative test result”, adding that this “involves more than just public health requirements”.
Officials revealed last month they were working on the system that would allow a traveller to prove they were free of Covid-19. This would mean the mandatory quarantine imposed on arrivals in Hong Kong, Guangdong and Macau could be waived.
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Similar arrangements already exist between Macau and the mainland province. People who test negative for the coronavirus within seven days of departure and are deemed to be at a low-risk of contracting the virus are allowed to cross the border.
Lam also dismissed a media report that said Macau would be excluded from the scheme, adding she had recently spoken to Macau leader Ho Iat-seng about the matter.
She said both governments were working hard to facilitate travel for residents between the two places.
Hong Kong has imposed a 14-day mandatory quarantine for people arriving from the mainland since early February, and extended that arrangement to those coming from Macau and Taiwan in late March.
But certain people are exempt, including those whose jobs are deemed important for the running of government, protecting the safety or health of Hongkongers, supplying goods and services required for the normal functioning of the city, as well as “exceptional circumstances” cases that serve Hong Kong’s public interest.
Overall, the exemptions involve 30 categories of people such as air travel workers and cross-border students.
