Pedestrians wear masks as they cross an intersection in Hong Kong on Oct. 14. City leaders on Saturday announced the border with mainland China could be opened by mid-January. File Photo by Jerome Favre/EPA-EFE
Dec. 24 (UPI) — Hong Kong’s leader announced Saturday the city will re-open its borders with mainland China by mid-January despite surging levels of COVID-19 infections following Beijing’s move to drop pandemic restrictions.
Speaking at a news conference upon returning from the Chinese capital, Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee said authorities are aiming to “gradually, orderly and fully” re-open all entry points between the two sides.
He stressed that the actual date for easing the curbs was up to the central government to decide.
“I can now announce that the much-awaited reopening of the border with the mainland can now be achieved,” Lee said, according to the South China Morning Post.
He has received the green light from Beijing, he added, saying, “We aim to discuss with authorities in Guangdong and Shenzhen plans to reopen the border and then seek the central government’s [final] approval.”
Hong Kong and Beijing shut their borders in early 2020 as COVID-19 first surfaced and they have remained closed since then.
Shenzhen last week agreed to increase the daily quota for Hong Kong arrivals from 2,500 to 2,800.
The planned reopening, however, is contingent on the pandemic situation. Hong Kong health authorities recorded more than 21,000 coronavirus infections Saturday, the second day in a row where cases topped the 20,000 mark. Some 39 related deaths were also logged.
Mainland China reported just 4,128 symptomatic infections but experts have suggested the actual number of new cases each day likely exceeds 1 million.
Lee met with Chinese President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Keqiang in Beijing on Wednesday, telling authorities that Hong Kong residents “earnestly hoped” the border could be reopened and the government would continue to discuss the matter with central authorities.
Hong Kong’s total COVID-19 tally on Saturday stood at 2.46 million cases and 11,412 related deaths.