Opinion | Why Hong Kong must lift Covid-19 flight ban and help residents stuck overseas

With no sign the flight ban on nine countries will end soon, Hongkongers stuck overseas must undergo expensive ‘washout’ periods or wait until the ban ends

Extending the ban and the suffering of Hongkongers makes no sense when the risks posed by some banned countries are lower than Hong Kong or non-banned places

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The arrivals hall at Hong Kong International Airport sits bereft of arrivals. Hongkongers stranded overseas by flight bans are forced into a choice between expensive “washout” periods in third countries or remaining overseas until the bans are lifted. Photo: Xiaomei Chen

Published: 8:15am, 4 Mar 2022

Hong Kong is now grappling with the fifth wave of the Covid-19 pandemic. After several extensions, the suspension of flights from nine countries is set to last until at least April 20.

But without any indication from the government that it won’t be extended again, Hongkongers who are stranded in one of the affected countries face only two options. They can pay large amounts of money to “wash out” in a country not affected by the ban – provided there are still flights available and they can get a PCR test the Hong Kong authorities will accept – or they can remain stranded until the suspension is eventually lifted.

Nearly two months into the flight ban, there is growing frustration at the ban and questions are raised about its necessity. Banning flights is immaterial to pandemic control if the number of non-local cases remains low compared to locally transmitted cases.

Gabriel Leung, dean of the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Hong Kong, said on February 24 that Hongkongers stranded overseas by the flight suspension should be allowed to return as Hong Kong’s risk of infection is similar to those in the banned regions. In other words, Hongkongers returning from those places do not pose additional risks to the city.

The list itself is even more baffling when the risks posed by some banned countries are lower than other non-banned places. Canada’s daily new case numbers, which are around 6,000, are lower than the number of new cases in Hong Kong.

“Washing out” in Germany should be equally risky from the Hong Kong government’s perspective as Germany, along with some other European countries not on the suspension list, is starting to lift some Covid-19 measures. Shouldn’t those places be banned as well? That’s not science but arbitrary judgment.

Stringent Covid-19 measures are already threatening Hong Kong’s status as an international financial centre. The American Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong has voiced the worries of its members and said in a report about its recent survey that more than half of business executives interviewed were considering leaving Hong Kong because of the unpredictable anti-pandemic measures in place.

In a similar vein, the EU Office to Hong Kong and Macau said more than 10 per cent of Europeans have fled the city in the past 18 months amid persistent uncertainties over Hong Kong’s anti-pandemic measures.