Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor attends a question-and-answer session in the Legislative Council, Hong Kong, April 28, 2021. (PHOTO/CLAVIN NG)
HONG KONG – The Hong Kong government is in early talks with Macao over a travel bubble between the two special administrative regions, Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor said on Wednesday, the same day the city logged seven new COVID-19 cases.
While responding to questions at the Legislative Council in the morning, Lam said the government will need to ensure that the program won’t be exploited and that Hong Kong residents cannot enter the Chinese mainland via Macao without undergoing the necessary quarantine measures.
READ MORE: Early tickets for HK-Singapore travel bubble sold out
Macao currently enjoys quarantine-free travel arrangements with the mainland.
The government will need to ensure that the (travel bubble) program won’t be exploited and that Hong Kong residents cannot enter the Chinese mainland via Macao without undergoing the necessary quarantine measures, Carrie Lam said
On when fully vaccinated Hong Kong residents can travel to the mainland without undergoing mandatory quarantine, Lam said there has been no specific indicators given by the mainland, but “the goal should be zero local infections” which she admitted is very hard to achieve.
Lam said a high vaccine take-up rate is key to the resumption of cross-border travel, but “the rate is not satisfying at this stage”.
“Hong Kong is open to all the arrangements the mainland deems acceptable, but the pace of implementation won’t be as fast as expected,” Lam said.
ALSO READ: HK logs 8 cases, to reopen bars, nightclubs for vaccinated people
About 455,000 residents, or 6.9 percent of the city’s population, had been fully vaccinated since the program started on Feb 26. Around 873,000 people had received their first dose.
Hong Kong reported seven new COVID-19 cases on Wednesday, all but one were imported, taking the city’s overall infection tally to 11,755.
The sole locally infected patient was a 28-year-old woman who lived at Hiu Kwai House in Kwai Chung Estate in Kwai Chung neighborhood in Kowloon. She developed symptoms on Saturday and her infection was linked to a previous patient, the Centre for Health Protection said in a statement.
It is the fourth consecutive day that the city did not see any untraceable cases.
Among the six imported cases, three were from Nepal, two from the Philippines and one from India, according to the CHP.