Tens of thousands of travelers commuted between mainland China and its special administrative region of Hong Kong, authorities said, the first time in three years that all border checkpoints were reopened fully without COVID restrictions
Outside the Shenzhen checkpoint were hundreds of red lanterns and large red banners celebrating the resumption of travel between the two cities."I am so happy that I am back to the motherland," one said, while another said, "We are free".to lure back visitors, businesses and investors to the financial hub after more than three years of tough COVID-19 curbs. Incentives include 500,000 free flights to be distributed to travellers.
Hong Kong was largely sealed off behind closed borders for much of the past three years in a bid to ward off COVID, with mandatory quarantine of up to three weeks for people arriving as well as intensive testing and screening. The former British closely followed China's zero-COVID policy until the middle of 2022 when it began to gradually unwind its rules.
Hong Kong dropped most of its remaining COVID rules in December, but wearing masks remains mandatory unless exercising and students must take daily rapid antigen tests.
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