Hong Kong scraps most COVID rules, though masks still mandated - Reuters

HONG KONG, Dec 28 (Reuters) - Hong Kong volition cancel its stringent COVID-19 rules from Thursday, metropolis person John Lee said, meaning that arrivals volition nary longer request to bash mandatory PCR tests portion the city's vaccine walk would besides beryllium scrapped.

All measures would beryllium cancelled connected Thursday, isolated from the wearing of masks which inactive remains compulsory, Lee told a media briefing connected Wednesday.

"The metropolis has reached a comparatively precocious vaccination complaint which builds an anti-epidemic barrier," Lee said.

"Hong Kong has a capable magnitude of medicine to combat COVID, and healthcare workers person gained affluent acquisition successful facing the pandemic," helium added.

Lee said his authorities is aiming to reopen the borders with mainland China by Jan. 15 and was moving with authorities implicit the borderline to guarantee an orderly re-opening.

He said the authorities person been preparing for the scrapping of each restrictions.

"The clip is due for america to bash this, having prepared for six months to bash this," said Lee. "The full nine is preparing for this. We are doing each this according to our section epidemic situation."

Hong Kong's vaccine walk requirement, which was imposed successful February and was a indispensable for radical to entree astir venues successful Hong Kong, volition extremity from Thursday. Social distancing rules specified arsenic a headdress connected gatherings of much than 12 radical successful nationalist volition besides beryllium scrapped from Thursday.

The metropolis has for astir 3 years mostly followed China's pb successful tackling the caller coronavirus, with some places being the past strongholds successful adopting a zero-COVID policy.

The removal of the curbs are apt to effect successful an summation of travellers to the erstwhile British colony who person antecedently shunned it owed to strict restrictions.

In an abrupt alteration of policy, China this period began dismantling the world's strictest COVID authorities of lockdowns and extended testing. The state volition halt requiring inbound travellers to spell into quarantine from Jan. 8, authorities said this week.

Restrictions connected question betwixt Hong Kong and the mainland were imposed successful aboriginal 2020. The reopening was postponed respective times owed to outbreaks successful Hong Kong oregon the mainland.

International passengers arriving successful Hong Kong since mid-month are nary longer taxable to COVID-related question controls oregon barred from definite venues, the authorities announced successful December.

Business groups, diplomats and galore residents had slammed Hong Kong's COVID-19 rules, saying they threatened its competitiveness and lasting arsenic an planetary fiscal centre.

The rules person weighed connected Hong Kong's system since aboriginal 2020, speeding up an exodus of businesses, expatriates and section families that person near amid a thrust by Beijing to much intimately power the erstwhile British colony.

Additional reporting by Jessie Pang and Angel Woo; Editing by Tom Hogue, Lincoln Feast and Muralikumar Anantharaman

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