Farah Master, Jessie Pang

HONG KONG (Reuters] – Hong Kong is planning to ease some anti-COVID-19 restrictions next month. The ban on nine countries will be lifted, as well as the quarantine requirements for foreign arrivals. Schools will also be reopened.

On Monday, Chief Executive Carrie Lam announced the moves after residents and businesses reacted to the idea of “living with” the virus.

The stringent policies implemented by the Chinese-ruled territories have caused frustration among residents. Many of these measures have been in effect for more than two years.

The ban on travel from Australia to the United States, Canada, France and India will be lifted starting April 1.

Lam said that the current ban on flights was not timely or appropriate. He warned that it would cause great disruption to Hong Kong residents who remain in those nine countries.

Lam stated that the hotel quarantine could be reduced to seven days if there is a negative result. It was previously announced that the measures would remain in effect up to April 20.

After the Easter holiday, schools will resume face-to-face classes. Public venues and sports facilities will also be reopened from April 21.

Since 2020, Hong Kong has had its border closed. There are no flights to land in Hong Kong and very few passengers can transit. This is a major setback for a city which was once a financial center of the world.

The city is reeling economically and businesses are closing down. Doctors say that many of its 7.4 million inhabitants are struggling with increasing mental health problems, especially among the low-income families.

Lam has made a policy change after her administration was repeatedly criticized by pro-Beijing media and politicians. This just weeks before the election in May 8, which will determine who will be the leader of the territory over the next five year.

She refused to say whether or not she would run for another term.

EXIT STRATEGY

Lam announced that the plan to conduct mass coronavirus tests would be stopped. He cited experts who stated it was too late. Experts say Hong Kong must have a clearly defined exit strategy to avoid trying to eradicate the virus entirely.

The former British colony, while it still maintains the “dynamic zero coronavirus” policy (similar to China), which attempts to control all epidemics, has begun to shift to mitigation strategies, as more people die.

Hong Kong has registered the most deaths per million people globally in recent weeks – more than 24 times that of rival Singapore – due to a large proportion of elderly who were unvaccinated as the highly transmissible Omicron variant ripped through care homes since February.

This densely populated city has seen more than 1,000,000 infections and approximately 5,000 deaths since the pandemic began. Most of these were in the last month.

According to health professionals, as many people have been infected with the virus at home and not notified authorities, this could mean that as high as 4,000,000 people may be infected.

Lam indicated that social distancing would be eased gradually starting April 21st, allowing for restaurant dining at 6 p.m. and tables of four from two.

In the second phase, nightclubs, bars and beaches will be permitted to open. People would also be allowed outside to exercise without wearing masks. Outside the home, masks are mandatory.

Hong Kong was a far better city at managing the coronavirus until this year than other large cities. However, the new wave of infection has overwhelmed its medical system. The morgues have overflowing, and the public is now skeptical about the government.