A young passenger walks past the departure area at the international airport in Hong Kong on Nov 17, 2008. (MIKE CLARKE / AFP)

HONG KONG – Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) government Secretary for Food and Health Sophia Chan said on Wednesday that Hong Kong will develop a local health code system to facilitate travel between HK and Guangdong or Macao.

The HKSAR, Guangdong province and the Macao SAR are considering a pilot scheme on mutual recognition of COVID-19 test results and mutual exemption from quarantine

Chan said in a written reply to HKSAR Legislative Council members that the HKSAR, Guangdong province and the Macao SAR are considering a pilot scheme on mutual recognition of COVID-19 test results and mutual exemption from quarantine in a bid to ease the cross-boundary flow of people among the three places within certain limits.

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The "Hong Kong Health Code", one of the HKSAR government's preparatory tasks to complement the launch of the pilot scheme, enables the virus test results of participants of the pilot scheme in Hong Kong to be uploaded onto the code, Chan said.

Before departing from Hong Kong, eligible persons with negative test results can connect to the electronic platform through a web browser using their phones or other devices, apply for the "Hong Kong Health Code" online, and download it, she said.

To facilitate the mutual recognition of test results by the boundary control officers of Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao, Chan said pilot scheme participants can choose to exchange the "Hong Kong Health Code" for use on the "Yuekang Code" system of Guangdong or "Macao Health Code" system of Macao for health declaration purposes when entering Guangdong or Macao.

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She stressed that the "Hong Kong Health Code" computer system will only collect basic personal information and nucleic acid test results from applicants for the purpose of applying for the system, and applicants' information security including data will be protected in strict accordance with regulations.

The HKSAR government will announce the details as soon as possible once the governments of Guangdong, Hong Kong SAR and Macao SAR have completed discussions on the pilot scheme, Chan said.

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