CE inspects implementation of Return2hk Scheme (with photos/video)
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Accompanied by the Secretary for Security, Mr John Lee; the Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs, Mr Erick Tsang Kwok-wai; the Commissioner of Customs and Excise, Mr Hermes Tang; the Director of Immigration, Mr Au Ka-wang; and the Commissioner for the Development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, Mr Tommy Yuen, Mrs Lam visited the Shenzhen Bay Control Point and the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge Control Point, where she was briefed by colleagues of the relevant departments on the operation of the Return2hk Scheme since its implementation on November 23 and inspected on-site the procedures for Hong Kong residents to return under the scheme.
Land-based cross-boundary passengers can only enter Hong Kong via the Shenzhen Bay Control Point and the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge Control Point amid the epidemic. Residents who intend to return to Hong Kong via the Return2hk Scheme are required to apply via an online booking system for a date for return to Hong Kong under a boundary control point-specific quota. They are also required to obtain a "Green" QR code by transmitting a valid negative COVID-19 nucleic test result to the electronic health declaration system of the Department of Health through the "Yuekang code" or the Macao Health Code within 24 hours before setting off so that they can be exempted from the compulsory quarantine requirement upon their entry into Hong Kong. A QR code of a different colour (e.g. a "Pink" QR code) means that the traveller has yet to fulfil all the specified conditions, and he or she may still be subject to the 14-day compulsory quarantine requirement upon entry into Hong Kong. Senior citizens not conversant with the system may save their QR codes on the mobile phones of their accompanying relatives and friends.
Mrs Lam said she was pleased to note that the Return2hk Scheme has been operating smoothly. Since its implementation about a month ago, nearly 20 000 Hong Kong residents have returned to Hong Kong from Guangdong Province or Macao via the scheme with exemption from compulsory quarantine. While chatting with a father and his son returning to Hong Kong at the Shenzhen Bay Control Point, Mrs Lam noted that they returned to Hong Kong via the Return2hk Scheme today after they went to the Mainland in September and that they found the scheme met their needs and were satisfied with the arrangement.
Mrs Lam said she believed that following the implementation of the Return2hk Scheme for a month, members of the public have learnt about the content of the scheme and the electronic application procedure through different channels, so that the immigration process has become smooth in general. She thanked colleagues of various departments working at the control points for standing fast at their posts amid the epidemic over the past year, making concerted efforts to enforce the anti-epidemic measures at the ports properly to safeguard public health.
During the visit, Mrs Lam and the other officials proceeded to the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge Control Point from the Shenzhen Bay Control Point via Tuen Mun-Chek Lap Kok Link Northern Connection, which was commissioned today, and took only about half an hour to travel from the north-western New Territories to north Lantau.
Ends/Sunday, December 27, 2020
Issued at HKT 22:32
Issued at HKT 22:32
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