Travellers between Mainland China from Hong Kong will not need to fill out a health declaration form before they cross the border, from November 1. Scrapping the measure means that there will no longer be any Covid-19 prevention measures to enter or leave Mainland China.
Hong Kong media outlets have reported that General Admissions of Customs officially announced that the ‘Black Code’ — the QR code generated after travellers successfully complete the health declaration forms — will no longer be a requirement starting Wednesday. In fact, reports also state that travellers have been waved across the border without having their QR codes checked when there is a lot of border traffic, as recently as the past weekend.
The measure has been in place since January 2020, and was updated last month, when authorities reduced the amount of information they required travellers to disclose in their forms. However, anyone who has been diagnosed with or displays symptoms of infectious diseases should inform customs officers at the border, even after November 1.
Mainland China scrapped its pre-departure Covid-19 test requirement in August 2023, and dropped its quarantine requirements for travellers from Hong Kong in January this year. In March, Mainland Chinese authorities resumed issuing visas to foreign tourists and reinstated its pre-Covid visa-free travel arrangements for visitors to Hainan and Guangdong.
Header image credits: LN9267 via Wiki Commons
