Govt Urged To Introduce Mandatory Covid Tests

The CEO of the Chinese Manufacturers' Association, Raymond Young, on Saturday urged Hong Kong government to take decisive action - such as mandatory coronavirus testing - to combat the pandemic, to convince mainland authorities to reopen the border with the SAR.

He said the resumption of cross-border travel is necessary for the city's economy to recover.

Speaking after a radio programme, he said the city's retail and catering businesses depend heavily on visitors from the mainland:

“We need to be able to persuade the other side that we are having this pandemic under control. The only way that we can do it is to have a more massive testing scheme which covers, if not all , most of the sectors of the population so that the other side is willing to let its people come to Hong Kong,” he said.

He expected that a lot of businesses would close down in the coming few months as a wage subsisdy scheme offered by the government comes to an end. He expressed hope that the administration will introduce other measures to support the business sector.

Speaking on the same programme, the lawmaker representing the wholesale and retail sector, Shiu Ka-fai, said more citizens had been out and about shopping and spending as the number of Covid-19 cases in Hong Kong drops.

But he echoed Young’s views, saying it’s important that the border with the mainland can be reopened as soon as possible.

The Chief Executive, Carrie Lam, said on Friday in Beijing that state leaders are not yet ready to allow Hong Kong people to enter the mainland without serving fourteen days of quarantine.

After meeting officials including Vice Premier Han Zheng, Lam said she'd been told that Hong Kong should step up its efforts to stop the coronavirus if it is to be allowed a quarantine exemption.