The government announced on Thursday that testing for all travellers upon arrival, followed by testing during the mandated seven-day quarantine, had caught the great majority of inbound cases.
Authorities in the Chinese territory also highlighted returning international students as a rationale for relaxing flight restrictions.
“The social cost of the circuit breaker mechanism’ is relatively high, and it also causes unnecessary hardship to these overseas students and their families,” the ministry stated in a statement.
Airlines were subject to a five-day flight ban if more than five passengers or 5% of the whole flight tested positive for COVID-19. Flights were previously prohibited for up to two weeks.
The restriction, which has resulted in the cancellation of more than 100 flights this year alone, is part of a slew of “zero COVID” policies that have effectively halted travel in what was once one of the world’s busiest transit hubs.
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