An empty arrival hall at the Hong Kong international airport. File photo: Candice Chau/HKFP. Used with permission. So if Hong Kong were to loosen border controls for people arriving from overseas or adopt with what other countries have done — so-called to live with Covid-19 virus — then the chances to travel with the mainland will be reduced. Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam said this during an interview on October 26 in response to the financial lobbying group Asia Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association's request to relax the 14–21 day mandatory quarantine rules for all travelers entering from other countries. With over 150 institutions, the finance trade group warned earlier this week that Hong Kong’s zero-COVID strategy would undermine the city’s status as a financial hub. The group conducted a survey among its members before issuing the warning letter: The Asia Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association said 48% of its members were contemplating moving staff or functions away from Hong Kong due to operational challenges, which included uncertainty travel and quarantine restrictions. https://t.co/GK65vX5NBT — Mike Bird (@Birdyword) October 25, 2021 At the same time, HSBC’s 2021 expat explorer survey indicated that Hong Kong’s livability rank has fallen from 20 in 2019 to 40 in 2021 and its future outlook rank has fallen from 15 to 41 in the same period. Its overall ranking is now lower than that of Thailand and just slightly better than the Philippines. Meanwhile, Singapore ranks 9 and Taiwan 15 globally in the survey. The American Chamber of Commerce had previously issued a similar warning urging the Hong Kong government to relax its quarantine requirements. Under the zero-COVID policy, Hong Kong required a 14–21 day compulsory quarantine for all inbound travelers through a list of designated hotels. They also implemented compulsory mask-wearing in all public spaces, contact tracking, community lockdown, and mass testing whenever a local infection is detected, even though the city has had single-digit local daily infections for months. Medical experts, like epidemiologist Ben Cowling from the University of Hong Kong, have questioned the lengthy compulsory quarantine requirement, particularly the 21-day confinement for fully vaccinated travelers from high-risk countries, which include the majority of countries in Europe, Asia, Latin America, and the US. In addition, the current control policy does not provide city residents with vaccination incentives. Thus far, only about 60 percent of the city population has been fully vaccinated. Vaccination among the elderly, 80 years old and over, is still less than 17 percent. But the pleas and doubts raised by the economic and medical sectors have not received a positive response. Instead of relaxation, travel restrictions will be further tightened as the government decided to scrap most quarantine exemptions granted to specific groups of visitors coming from overseas and mainland China. Hong Kong currently allows diplomats and business leaders as well as Hong Kong residents returning from Guangdong and Macau to be exempted from the compulsory quarantine rule. The upcoming arrangement will only allow essential workers such as cross-border truck drivers to make quarantine-free trips. The vaccination requirements for incoming travelers will also be lowered from age 17 to age 12, starting October 29. Additionally, starting October 27, recovered COVID-19 patients discharged from Hong Kong hospitals have to undergo an extra 14 days of quarantine in a medical facility. Again, Ben Cowling raised his doubt on Twitter: The cynical (though not necessarily incorrect) reading is that it's not epidemiology but politics that is driving this policy. The HK govt has put all its chips on reopening the mainland border, so we endure whatever it thinks will make that magic happen. https://t.co/S9qjB8yLNg — Paul Freelend (@PaulFreelend) October 27, 2021 Indeed, Carrie Lam’s statement has made it quite clear that the city’s top priority is to reopen the border with mainland China. In order to do so, the government will not hesitate to introduce more restrictive rules which are currently implemented in China, even if they would infringe upon individuals’ privacy and rights. The political motivation has triggered skepticism about the city's pandemic control policies. Even those who agree with the zero-COVID strategy, which has effectively suppressed local outbreaks, are becoming doubtful about the government’s pandemic control policy: covid zero *is* working in HK, in that we haven't had any community infections in six months.