Reverse Quarantine Has Complications: Tam Yiu-chung

The sole delegate to the country's top legislature, Tam Yiu-chung, said on Saturday that he hopes the quarantine period for travel to the mainland can be shortened by the end of the year.

The mainland currently requires travellers from Hong Kong to go through a "seven plus three" quarantine, meaning they have to spend a week in a hotel and another three days self-monitoring at home.

Citing a shorter incubation period for the Omicron variant, Tam has lobbied for shortening the seven-day hotel requirement to four.

The National People's Congress Standing Committee member said he was confident the current cap on numbers travelling to the mainland would be raised after the 20th Communist Party congress, which opens on Sunday.

"[Mainland officials] don't work on this right after the congress, I believe they are working on relevant matters, but the thing is when to announce [the relaxation]," Tam said on a Cable TV programme.

"Officials are busy with the congress. Perhaps after this period when everything is settled and ready, then they will make an announcement."

Tam said one way to increase the current quota of 1,500 travellers a day would be to allow people to quarantine in places beyond Shenzhen, such as in nearby cities including Dongguan and Huizhou.

He also revealed that the idea of allowing travellers to the mainland to quarantine in Hong Kong had hit a snag.

Authorities on the mainland and Hong Kong have been discussing a "reverse quarantine" arrangement, but Tam said there were technical complications that would take time to resolve.

"We have issues finding manpower in Hong Kong for the quarantine facilities. Because management staff need to enter a closed-loop, they can't go home, perhaps for at least two weeks," he said.