Over 286K HKers Apply to Travel to Mainland

Borders are reopening between Hong Kong and Guangdong

After Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu announced that up to 60,000 Hong Kong residents could cross the border into the mainland daily from January 8, the time slots were quickly filled up. By 8am on Friday, more than 286,000 residents had registered their visits online.

Lee made the quota announcement on Thursday

From Sunday, 50,000 travellers a day can use land checkpoints at the Lok Ma Chau railway station, Man Kam To and then Shenzhen Bay Port to enter the mainland without having to undergo quarantine if they have reserved a spot online. 

There is also a daily quota of 1,000 for drivers and passengers of private and rental cars who use the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge.

Meanwhile there is an equal number of places for mainland residents to apply to go to Hong Kong by registering on an Shenzhen government-operated reservation system.

Interestingly there are no quotas for the numbers of travellers entering China via the airport, two ferry terminals and the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge shuttle buses. The government estimates there could be around 10,000 visitors through these other routes, but neither side will track these travellers in either direction... wonder why...

Travellers from both sides need to produce a negative polymerase chain reaction or PCR test taken within 48 hours and are not required to quarantine.

Travellers on the bridge won't be subject to quota

Hong Kong lawmakers are pleased with the quota arrangements, but are pushing to increase them further after the start of the Year of the Rabbit.

However, many Hongkongers are terrified of not only an impending invasion of mainlanders -- they are arriving vaccinated or not, as they don't need to show any proof of having had any jabs.

Some have already trickled into the city, though the onslaught is happening in days...