Hong Kong’s China border to reopen as COVID surges

• Hong Kong will try to reopen its borders with the mainland.
• This is another step toward easing restrictions put in place because of the pandemic.
• Only ways to get to the mainland from Hong Kong are through airport or bridge.

China is dealing with a new wave of COVID-19 infections. On Saturday, the leader of Hong Kong said that it would try to reopen its borders with the mainland by the middle of January. This is another step toward easing restrictions put in place because of the pandemic.

Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee said at a news conference when he got back from Beijing that officials would try to “gradually, orderly, and fully” reopen all entry points between the two sides and work with the government of nearby Shenzhen to control the flow of people.

At the moment, the only ways to get to the mainland from Hong Kong are through the city’s airport or the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau bridge or Shenzhen Bay.

Before people can move around freely on the mainland, they also have to stay in a hotel for a period of quarantine.

As soon as COVID was discovered in early 2020, Hong Kong and Beijing closed their borders. They have stayed closed since then because China has a strict “zero-COVID” policy that limits the number of people who can enter the country.

Beijing eased China’s domestic zero-COVID restrictions earlier this month by getting rid of travel restrictions and removing the need for mandatory testing.

Even though many people liked the change, families and the health care system were not ready for the increase in infections that followed. Hospitals are rushing to get beds, blood, and medicine, and the government is rushing to build clinics.

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