Hong Kong Health Chief Rules Out Quarantine-Free Travel for Now

(Bloomberg) ― Hong Kong’s new health chief rejected calls for quarantine-free travel in the near future and for living with Covid-19 even as the city relaxes some restrictions amid a surge in cases.

Lo Chung-mau, who was named secretary for health by new Chief Executive John Lee, said in an interview with local newspaper Oriental Daily that it’s unreasonable to pursue a full-blown border reopening with mainland China or the rest of the world and that the government is targeting reducing inconveniences to allow more people to travel. The city would have far more than 9,000 deaths if it were to live with the virus, Lo added, citing the large numbers of deaths in the U.S. and U.K. after the countries reopened.