Extra test needed for those going from HK to mainland

People travelling to the mainland or Macau by land from Monday will be required to do an additional PCR test at the Hong Kong port, as SAR officials move to prevent infections from spreading to the mainland.

Currently, travellers passing through the Shenzhen Bay Port or the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge Port only have to show a negative result from a nucleic acid test taken in the past 48 hours.

But from Monday, they have to undergo another test at the border before they leave Hong Kong, and can only continue on their journey if they test negative.

“In the light of the ongoing severe Covid-19 epidemic situation in Hong Kong and the fact that the number of cases remains at a high level, the government announced … the implementation of [the] special Covid-19 testing arrangement starting March 21 in order to further prevent the exportation of local cases and to support the mainland’s anti-epidemic efforts,” a statement read.

Officials urge people to reserve ample travelling time, saying the PCR test, which will be provided for free, will take around one to two hours.

The testing service will begin one hour before the opening of the passenger clearance buildings and end one hour before their closure, they added.

The government said it is also studying extending the same measure to travellers flying to the mainland, and details will be announced in due course.