Hong Kong to lift flight ban on nine countries on April 1, including UK, US and India

Its border has effectively been shut since 2020 with few flights able to land

Victoria Harbour in Hong Kong. The territory is lifting a ban on flights from nine countries next month. Reuters

Hong Kong plans to relax some of its Covid-19 measures next month, lifting a ban on flights from nine countries including the US, the UK, France and India, reducing quarantine time for arrivals from abroad and reopening schools.

The moves, announced on Monday by Chief Executive Carrie Lam, could quieten some criticism from residents who have become increasingly frustrated with the territory's stringent measures, some of which have been in place for more than two years.

The flight ban would be lifted from April 1, while hotel quarantine for arrivals could be cut to seven days from 14 if residents tested negative, Lam said. She had previously said measures would be in place until April 20.

Schools would resume face-to-face classes from April 19, after the Easter holidays, while public venues including sports facilities would also reopen from April 21, she said.

Hong Kong's border has effectively been shut since 2020, with few flights able to land and hardly any passengers allowed to transit, effectively isolating a territory that had built a reputation as a global financial hub.

The ban had made it difficult for residents to return to Hong Kong, with many spending time known as "washing out" in other countries for two weeks before being allowed to return.

The rules, together with constant mixed messaging from the government, including whether a citywide lockdown and mass testing would take place, have triggered an exodus of residents in the past two months.

Net outflows show more than 54,000 people have left Hong Kong so far in March, against more than 71,000 in February and nearly 17,000 in December before the fifth wave of the pandemic hit, prompting fears for the city's longer-term competitiveness.

Businesses and the territory's economy are reeling from widespread closures, while doctors say many of its 7.4 million residents are grappling with rising mental health issues, particularly among low-income families.

A plan to carry out mass coronavirus testing would be put on hold, Lam said, citing experts who said it was not a suitable time.

While Hong Kong has officially stuck to the "dynamic zero" coronavirus policy, similar to mainland China, which seeks to curb all outbreaks, it has been shifting to mitigation strategies as deaths skyrocketed.

Hong Kong has registered the most deaths per million people globally in recent weeks owing to a large proportion of elderly people who were still unvaccinated as the highly transmissible Omicron variant ripped through care homes.

The densely packed territory has recorded more than a million infections since the pandemic started and about 5,000 deaths — most of them in the past month.

As many as four million people could be infected according to estimates from health experts as many residents have contracted the virus and isolated at home without notifying authorities.