Hong Kong drops COVID curbs for arrivals, scraps health app

Announcement comes as mainland China continues to ease strict ‘zero-COVID’ technique.

Hong Kong has scrapped its COVID-19 app and a ban on arrivals visiting bars and eating places inside three days of arrival after almost three years of curbs which have decimated companies and tourism.

The announcement on Tuesday got here after authorities in mainland China shut down an app for monitoring home journey in Beijing’s newest transfer away from its harsh “zero-COVID” technique.

Hong Kong residents have been required to make use of the “LeaveHomeSafe” to show their vaccination standing and report their entry at eating places and venues reminiscent of gyms, golf equipment and salons.

Arrivals to town have additionally had their actions restricted below a “0+3” association that barred their entry to sure venues together with eating places and bars for the primary 72 hours.

Hong Kong chief John Lee stated the federal government had determined to drop the restrictions from Wednesday after contemplating the newest information and dangers.

“The an infection threat from imported instances is decrease than the chance from native infections,” Lee stated.

Hong Kong’s powerful pandemic restrictions, which have lasted far longer than elsewhere, have inflicted large injury on the economic system, which is closely depending on journey and commerce.

Hong Kong is without doubt one of the solely economies within the area set to finish the 12 months in recession, together with neighbouring Chinese language territory Macau and crisis-stricken Sri Lanka.

The town’s authorities final month downgraded its financial forecast for 2022 to a contraction of three.2 %.

Though Hong Kong ended two and half years of necessary resort quarantine for arrivals in September, guests have but to return to town in giant numbers.

Each day arrivals are presently hovering round 20,000 folks, most of them Hong Kong residents, in contrast with about 350,000 in November 2019.

Regardless of the newest easing of restrictions, Hong Kong maintains the strictest pandemic guidelines outdoors mainland China, together with necessary face masks outdoors, a number of COVID checks for arrivals, and a ban on gatherings of greater than 12 folks.