Worries over loop plans hobbling IT growth

James Lee

Using the Lok Ma Chau Loop as a "reverse quarantine" site may hurt the IT sector as the area connecting Hong Kong with Shenzhen is supposed to house a tech development district in the future, says Executive Council convener Regina Ip Lau Suk-yee.

Speaking on television yesterday, Ip said using the site for a proposed reverse quarantine plan - allowing travelers to undergo quarantine locally before setting off for a mainland destination - would slow down the pace of IT development and that the arrangements itself would be a waste of time for the administration.

"A government term lasts five years. If we spend a year [working to get reverse quarantine going], only four years are left," she said, adding that authorities should look into alternatives as the site is dedicated for the development and construction of the Hong Kong-Shenzhen Innovation and Technology Park.

Local authorities have been in talks with their mainland counterparts since Hong Kong lawmakers and political heavyweights in August called on the government to implement reverse quarantine for the convenience of mainland-bound Hongkongers.

But the SAR government has yet to issue a timeline on when this would take effect, as well as details regarding whether travelers would be undergoing quarantine at makeshift hospitals at the loop or quarantine hotels.

Last month, Secretary for Security Chris Tang Ping-keung said the makeshift hospital in the Lok Ma Chau Loop would be the first to be mobilized once the reverse quarantine scheme begins.

Tam Yiu-chung, member of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, said talks between local and mainland authorities on reverse quarantine are ongoing and that confining facility workers to a closed loop could pose logistical difficulties.

"They would have to work for quite some time before they are allowed to return home, which is a bit of a challenge. But I think we can try our best to solve this issue," he said.

At the weekend, former executive council convener Bernard Charnwut Chan called on the government to further relax the travel curbs to "0+0" and scrap testing on arrival, conceding that Singapore had replaced Hong Kong as the international financial hub of the Asia-Pacific region.

"If the city continues to mandate testing, tourists and business people will choose not to travel to Hong Kong as they face quarantine on positive results," he said.

Hong Kong also announced new social distancing measures. From Thursday, a maximum of 12 restaurant diners will be allowed to be seated at each table. That cap will also apply to party rooms and karaoke lounges.

Bars, pubs and nightclubs will be allowed to serve six people per table, up from the current four, and customers will have to show a negative test result before entry. The number of people allowed at banquets is set to double to 240 from 120.

The cruise circuit-breaker will also be canceled on Thursday - a move that was "good news that came too late," said Travel Industry Council executive director, Fanny Yeung Shuk-fan, as "cruises to nowhere" will only be able to return to Hong Kong next year.

cjames.lee@singtaonewscorp.com