Coronavirus: ‘over 80 per cent of Hong Kong’s cross-border truck drivers could be out of a job’ as Shenzhen tightens restrictions
- Shenzhen has issued series of tough measures to restrict cross-border truck operations, including evicting more than 100 of the city’s drivers there
- Hong Kong drivers are now barred from heading to destinations in mainland China and must hand over their trucks to at designated border connection points
More than 80 per cent of Hong Kong’s 8,000 cross-border truck drivers could be out of a job after neighbouring Shenzhen tightened Covid-19 restrictions amid a week-long lockdown, a transport group has warned.
In response to increasing infections among the Hong Kong truck drivers, the Shenzhen Government Port of Entry and Exit Office has, since Sunday, issued a series of tough measures on cross-border truck operations, including evicting more than 100 truckers fro the financial capital.
It said on Monday that all trucks carrying cross-boundary goods could only enter and leave mainland China via the connection points in Huanggang, Man Kam To, Liantang and Shenzhen Bay checkpoints, for “better centralised management”.
Liantang was removed from the list on Tuesday, leaving only three checkpoints handling cross-border trucks.
Hong Kong drivers are now barred from heading to mainland destinations to pick up consignments. Their trucks will have to be handed over to the mainland shuttle drivers at the designated border connection points.
Hong Kong Land Transport Council chairman Stanley Chiang Chi-wai said more than 80 per cent of the city’s 8,000 cross-border truck drivers would be out of work for an indefinite period as only about 1,000 of them were allowed to head to the border connection points to hand over their trucks.
“I am now drafting a letter to the government in a bid to call for subsidies for them to ride out the difficulties,” he said.