Minister admits ‘confusion’ on quarantine U-turn

Civil Service Secretary Patrick Nip on Sunday admitted there had been “confusion” over the administration’s U-turn on the suspension of quarantine-free entry to Hong Kong via Guangdong, but said officials will learn from the experience.

The Centre for Health Protection on Saturday originally announced that it will upgrade the risk level for the entire Guangdong province after its capital city Guangzhou reported a new Covid-19 case, and the”Return2hk” scheme would be suspended as a result.

But the government backed down hours later.

Instead, officials only classified a building in Liwan district as medium risk and said the “Return2hk” scheme for Hong Kong residents would remain unchanged – that’s despite the SAR government’s list on medium or high risk areas in the mainland appears to be based on province, municipality or autonomous region.

At present, Anhui and Liaoning provinces are on the list.

Speaking to reporters, Nip said whether to adjust the “Return2hk” scheme would depend on public health risk and whether the corresponding measure is proportionate.

He explained that mainland authorities had only classified a particular street in Guangzhou as medium risk and so the entire Guangdong province isn’t facing the same risk.

“There might be some confusion, but we will learn from experience and explain to the people to avoid misunderstanding and possible chaos,” he said.

Federation of Trade Unions lawmaker Alice Mak said the incident reflected Hong Kong officials’ lack of understanding of the mainland and the lack of communication between departments within the SAR administration.

She said she was glad that the government clarified the arrangement at the end, as a number of Hong Kong people in Guangdong had sought help from her party.