Hong Kong Looses COVID-19 Strict Restrictions Next Month, Carrie Lam: Flight Ban No Longer Appropriate

JAKARTA - Hong Kong plans to relax some anti-COVID-19 measures next month, lifting flight bans from nine countries, easing quarantines, and reopening schools, after a strong reaction from businesses and residents.

The move, announced on Monday by Chief Executive Carrie Lam, saw countries turn to trying to live with the virus rather than trying to prevent it.

Hong Kong residents are known to be increasingly frustrated by the tough measures taken by the Hong Kong Authority, with many of them have been in place for more than two years.

The ban on flights from Australia, the UK, Canada, France, India, Nepal, Pakistan, the Philippines, and the United States will be lifted from April 1.

"The flight ban is no longer timely and appropriate, it will bring great disruption to Hong Kong people trapped in those nine countries if we continue with the ban," Lam told a news conference.

In addition, hotel quarantines for Hong Kong residents arriving in the city could be cut to seven days from 14 days, if they test negative, Lam said. He previously said the measures would be in place until April 20.

Not only that, schools will resume face-to-face classes from April 19 while public places including sports facilities will also reopen from April 21, he said.

Furthermore, plans to conduct mass coronavirus testing will be delayed, Lam said, citing experts as saying it was not the right time. Hong Kong needs to have a clear exit strategy rather than trying to eradicate the virus completely, experts say.

Lam said social distancing measures would be relaxed gradually from April 21, allowing dining in restaurants after 6 p.m. with a table of four people out of two this time.

Nightclubs, pubs, and beaches will be allowed to open in the second phase while people will be allowed to exercise outdoors without masks. Masks are now mandatory everywhere outside the home.

Hong Kong's borders have been effectively closed since 2020, with few flights able to land, hardly any passengers allowed to transit, isolating the city that has built a reputation as a global financial hub.

Nonetheless, Hong Kong recorded the most deaths per one million people globally in recent weeks, more than 24 times that of rival Singapore, with the vast majority of elderly people not being vaccinated as the highly contagious Omicron variant is tearing up nursing homes.

The congested city has recorded more than a million infections since the pandemic began and about 6.000 deaths, most of them in the past month. Authorities reported 14,068 new cases on Monday and 223 deaths.

As many as 4 million people, out of a population of 7.4 million, could be infected according to estimates by health experts as many residents have caught the virus and are isolated at home without notifying authorities.

It is known that it has officially chosen to stick to a 'zero dynamic' coronavirus policy as mainland China seeks to curb all outbreaks. Hong Kong turned to mitigation strategies as the death toll skyrocketed.

Lam's policy turn comes after her government has been repeatedly criticized by politicians, pro-Beijing media, and Chinese social media, just weeks before the city is due to hold elections on May 8 to choose who will lead the region for the next five years.