HONG KONG - Cross border travel between the mainland and the special administrative regions of Hong Kong and Macao would fully resume from Feb 6, with existing quotas and a mandatory COVID-19 test that was required before traveling scrapped.

Group tours between the mainland and Hong Kong and Macao would resume, while the number of customs checkpoints open will return to pre-pandemic levels, the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office (HKMAO) said in a statement on its website on Friday. 

A circular issued on Friday by the State Council's Joint Prevention and Control Mechanism - the country's top COVID-19 control task force - said the aim was to further optimize the measures regarding passenger travels between mainland and the two cities, and to make them more convenient.

Group tours between the mainland and Hong Kong and Macao would resume, while the number of customs checkpoints open will return to pre-pandemic levels

The announcement came a day after Hong Kong launched a promotion campaign including 500,000 free flights to lure back visitors, businesses and investors to the financial hub after more than three years of COVID-19 curbs.

Even after the mainland reopened its borders to the world on Jan 8, a quota system and COVID-19 testing requirement remained for travelers between the mainland and the HKSAR. 

Starting Monday, inbound passengers do not need to provide proof of a negative test result if they have not traveled overseas in the previous seven days. If they did travel overseas recently, proof of negative test within 48 hours is needed, according to the circular. 

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The first batch of visitors from the Chinese mainland cross to the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region at Futian port in Shenzhen on Jan 8, 2023. (PARKER ZHENG / CHINA DAILY)

Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu said at a press conference on Friday that border control points at Lo Wu, Heung Yuen Wai, Lok Ma Chau and Shatoujiao Port would reopen on Feb 6. 

Hong Kong will also scrap a COVID-19 vaccination requirement to enter the city for all arrivals, including non-Hong Kong residents, Lee added. 

Also from Feb 6, Macao travelers heading to Hong Kong will no longer need to do a rapid antigen test and the COVID-19 vaccine requirement for overseas and Taiwan-inbound passengers will be dropped.

Chief Executive John Lee said at a press conference on Friday that border control points at Lo Wu, Heung Yuen Wai, Lok Ma Chau and Shatoujiao Port would reopen on Feb 6

While the Shatoujiao Port will only offer freight clearance service, the other three checkpoints – so far closed - will provide both passenger and freight clearance service over pre-pandemic hours of operation.  The Lok Ma Chau-Huanggang cross-boundary shuttle and other cross-boundary bus services will resume at the same time. 

Chief Secretary for Administration Eric Chan Kwok-ki, who accompanied the CE to the press conference, said from Jan 8 to Feb 2, 770,000 north-bound and 700,000 south-bound passengers had crossed the border. 

Chan also said that starting Feb 8, cross-border students of Hong Kong secondary schools can use special channels at checkpoints and school bus services to return to Hong Kong for face-to-face classes. 

The arrangement will cover other cross-border students of primary schools, kindergarten and special schools starting Feb 21, Chan added.

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Hong Kong Chief Excutive John Lee Ka-chiu (third right); Chief Secretary for Administration Eric Chan Kwok-ki (third left); Secretary for Security Chris Tang Ping-keung (second right); Secretary for Health Lo Chung-mau (second left); Secretary for Transport and Logistics Lam Sai-hung (first right) and Secretary for Education Choi Yuk-lin (first left) attend a press conference to announce the modalities of the full resumption of the cross-border travel at the Central Government Offices on Feb 3, 2023. (ANDY CHONG / CHINA DAILY)  

At the same press conference, Secretary for Health Lo Chung-mau said from Jan 8 to Jan 29, the number of confirmed cases in Hong Kong dropped by 80 percent, and the daily new cases decreased to 3,000 a day.

The number of imported cases remained low, with mainland cases accounting for only 16 percent of the overall imported cohort. He said this clearly showed that resumption of normal travel arrangements with the mainland did not bring additional health risks to Hong Kong. 

Passengers disembark from a train at the terminus of the East Rail Line at Lok Ma Chau Spur Line Station on Jan 8, 2023. (EDMOND TANG / CHINA DAILY)

Searches on mainland travel website Qunar for round-trip air tickets to and from Hong Kong and the mainland increased seven-fold on Friday after the HKMAO announcement, data from state media China Transportation News showed.

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Hong Kong began to gradually unwind its COVID-19 rules from the middle of 2022. The city dropped most of its remaining COVID rules in December, but mask-wearing remains mandatory unless exercising, and students must take daily rapid antigen tests.

With Reuters inputs