China, Hong Kong scrap cross-border travel quota, COVID test
HONG KONG -
Travel between Hong Kong and China will no longer require COVID-19 PCR tests nor be held to a daily limit, authorities announced Friday, as both places seek to drive economic growth.
Hong Kong's tourism industry has suffered since 2019 after months of political strife that at times turned into violent clashes between protesters and police, as well as harsh entry restrictions implemented during the pandemic.
"From Monday, there will be a full resumption of travel between Hong Kong and the mainland," Hong Kong leader John Lee said Friday at a news briefing.
Lee said quotas for travellers will be scrapped and all boundary checkpoints will reopen next week.
The announcement came a day after Lee unveiled a tourism campaign aimed at attracting travellers to Hong Kong that includes 500,000 free air tickets for tourists to visit the semi-autonomous Chinese city.
China had already eased travel restrictions with Hong Kong on Jan. 8, dropping a mandatory quarantine period required for travellers entering the mainland. However, the number of travellers entering the mainland from Hong Kong via land checkpoints was limited to 50,000 a day.
From Feb. 6, most travellers crossing the border between mainland China and Hong Kong will no longer need to present a negative PCR test for COVID-19 prior to travel. Only those who have travelled overseas within the past seven days would be required to produce their negative PCR result, Hong Kong and Chinese authorities said Friday.
Both Hong Kong and mainland China were among the last holdouts globally to keep entry restrictions including mandatory quarantine periods, even as the rest of the world began reopening their borders in 2022.
Hong Kong -- a business hub reputed as a popular city for tourists -- has seen its tourism industry battered over the past three years.
In spite of China's easing of entry restrictions last month, Hong Kong's tourism industry has a long road to recovery.
In 2022, nearly 605,000 visitors came to Hong Kong -- up sixfold from the year before, but about 90% less than 2019 before the pandemic, which saw 55.9 million arrivals.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Ottawa board of health member sees outpouring of support after body-shaming message
A member of the city of Ottawa's board of health is speaking out about body shaming after receiving a letter that said she shouldn't serve on the board because of her weight.
'Targeted inflation relief' coming in 2023 federal budget, Freeland says
The coming 2023 federal budget will 'exercise fiscal restraint' while also making 'significant' investments in health and building Canada's clean economy, Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland said Monday.
2 staff members, student suspect injured in stabbing at Halifax-area high school
Two staff members and a student -- who is also the suspect -- have been injured in a stabbing at a high school in Bedford, N.S., according to the Halifax Regional Centre for Education (HRCE).
BREAKING
BREAKING | 1 dead after triple shooting at Fairview Mall parking lot in Toronto
One person is dead and two others are injured following a shooting in the parking lot of Fairview Mall in Toronto on Monday afternoon.
'Absolutely disgusting': B.C. councillor speaks out after Sikh international student swarmed, beaten
An international student was swarmed and beaten by a group of people who ripped off his turban and dragged him across the sidewalk by his hair in Kelowna, B.C., Friday evening, according to a local politician.
Unanswered questions: Montreal mayor calls for meeting with Airbnb after fatal fire
Mayor Valerie Plante said Monday she requested a meeting with an Airbnb executive after a building in Old Montreal — a short-term rental hot spot — was destroyed by a fire that has left six people missing.
Zellers opening inside Hudson’s Bay stores in Ontario, Alberta this week
Hudson’s Bay will open the first 12 Zellers locations inside existing Ontario and Alberta department stores this Thursday.
Safety steps Airbnb renters can take -- and measures that operators must
A deadly fire that swept through a building in Old Montreal on Thursday where several apartments were being used as Airbnb units is raising safety concerns about short-term rental properties. Here are several steps guests can take to protect themselves.
W5 Investigates
W5 Investigates | How did a healthy teen die at a minor hockey camp?
The parents of young Ontario hockey player Ben Teague have been searching for answers since he died while at a team retreat in 2019. The mystery about what happened and the code of silence in hockey culture is explored in CTV W5's 'What Happened to Ben,' on CTVNews.ca and W5's official YouTube channel.
Canada
-
2 staff members, student suspect injured in stabbing at Halifax-area high school
Two staff members and a student -- who is also the suspect -- have been injured in a stabbing at a high school in Bedford, N.S., according to the Halifax Regional Centre for Education (HRCE).
-
Unanswered questions: Montreal mayor calls for meeting with Airbnb after fatal fire
Mayor Valerie Plante said Monday she requested a meeting with an Airbnb executive after a building in Old Montreal — a short-term rental hot spot — was destroyed by a fire that has left six people missing.
-
BREAKING
BREAKING | 1 dead after triple shooting at Fairview Mall parking lot in Toronto
One person is dead and two others are injured following a shooting in the parking lot of Fairview Mall in Toronto on Monday afternoon.
-
Regimental funeral for fallen Edmonton police officers scheduled for next Monday
The Edmonton police officers killed in the line of duty last week will be laid to rest next Monday.
-
Rattles sold at Canadian dollar stores recalled due to choking threat
A toy purchased at dollar stores by tens of thousands of Canadians is being recalled due to a potential choking hazard.
-
Nexus program to resume by April 24 after yearlong standoff
The Nexus trusted-traveller program will fully ramp back up within five weeks, allowing frequent border crossers to complete their applications and speed up their trips, the federal government said Monday.
World
-
U.S. aid worker kidnapped in Niger released after 6 years
An American aid worker who was kidnapped in the West African nation of Niger more than six years ago has been released from custody, the Biden administration said Monday.
-
Pakistani police arrest scores more Imran Khan supporters
Pakistani police on Monday arrested scores more supporters of former prime minister Imran Khan for attacking officers over the weekend outside an Islamabad court where the ousted premier was to appear on graft charges, officials said.
-
1 dead, 1 hurt in Texas school shooting; suspect arrested
A student opened fire at a Dallas-area school Monday morning, killing one student and injuring another before being arrested on a capital murder charge, police said.
-
Attorneys make divergent closings in trial of Haitian mayor
An attorney for three Haitian men who claimed in a U.S. lawsuit that the former mayor of their small hometown subjected his political opponents to violence and terror called the defendant "a small, petty tyrant" during closing arguments Monday.
-
4 guilty of conspiracy in latest Oath Keepers Jan. 6 trial
Four people associated with the Oath Keepers were convicted on Monday of conspiracy and obstruction charges stemming from the attack on the U.S. Capitol in the latest trial involving members of the far-right antigovernment extremist group.
-
Donors pledge $7.5 billion for Turkiye, Syria after quake
The European Union and international donors on Monday pledged seven billion euros (US$7.5 billion) to help Turkiye and Syria in the aftermath of the earthquake that devastated parts of the neighbouring countries last month.
Politics
-
Will the Conservative foreign interference motion be a confidence vote? Liberals 'having ongoing discussions'
In an effort to keep the foreign interference story at the forefront, and to do an apparent end run around the Liberal filibuster blocking one study from going ahead, the Conservatives forced the House to spend Monday debating a motion instructing an opposition-dominated House committee to strike its own review.
-
'Targeted inflation relief' coming in 2023 federal budget, Freeland says
The coming 2023 federal budget will 'exercise fiscal restraint' while also making 'significant' investments in health and building Canada's clean economy, Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland said Monday.
-
Canada's foreign minister says China peace talks in Moscow will prolong Ukraine war
Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly says China's attempts to broker peace in Ukraine will likely just help Russia re-arm and prolong the conflict.
Health
-
Donald Trump silent on abortion as '24 campaign pushes forward
No elected Republican has done more to restrict abortion rights in the U.S. than Donald Trump, but in the early days of the 2024 presidential contest, no Republican has worked harder to avoid the issue than the former president.
-
Patients seeking PRP therapy for COVID-related hair loss, but does it work?
Experts say a growing number of people are seeking out platelet-rich plasma therapy to treat COVID-19-related hair loss. But how well does the treatment actually work?
-
Rattles sold at Canadian dollar stores recalled due to choking threat
A toy purchased at dollar stores by tens of thousands of Canadians is being recalled due to a potential choking hazard.
Sci-Tech
-
Spring backwards? Why next spring will come earlier than it has in nearly 130 years
In the previous century, the spring equinox typically fell on March 21, but the first day of spring has slowly been moving. Here's why next year it will fall on March 19, for the first time since the 1800s.
-
Parliamentary committee summons Mark Zuckerberg over Meta's threat to block news
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg is being summoned by a parliamentary committee for the third time in four years -- this time over the tech company's threat to block news from Canadians on its social-media platforms.
-
Elon Musk's satellites are muddling UFO sighting statistics, researchers say
A slight increase in UFO sightings in 2020 compared to pre-pandemic years may not be because of the pandemic itself, but because of Elon Musk’s new internet satellites, researchers found.
Entertainment
-
Bruce Willis sings with his family in birthday tribute video from ex Demi Moore
Demi Moore has shared a touching message dedicated to her ex-husband Bruce Willis on his first birthday since being diagnosed with dementia.
-
Jury convicts 3 of murder in death of rapper XXXTentacion
A Florida jury has convicted three men of murder in the 2018 killing of star rapper XXXTentacion, who was shot during a robbery that netted US$50,000.
-
'Songs are the close-up': Why Disney tunes differ in movies and musicals
Composer Alan Menken explains how special it was to write songs for Disney animated movies and to now help adapt the songs for the stage.
Business
-
Zellers opening inside Hudson’s Bay stores in Ontario, Alberta this week
Hudson’s Bay will open the first 12 Zellers locations inside existing Ontario and Alberta department stores this Thursday.
-
Women make up one-third of S&P/TSX composite board positions for first time: ISS
ISS Corporate Solutions, Inc. says for the first time ever women hold one-third of the board director positions across companies listed on the S&P/TSX composite.
-
Safety steps Airbnb renters can take -- and measures that operators must
A deadly fire that swept through a building in Old Montreal on Thursday where several apartments were being used as Airbnb units is raising safety concerns about short-term rental properties. Here are several steps guests can take to protect themselves.
Lifestyle
-
The world's happiest countries for 2023
The 2023 World Happiness Report identifies the happiest nations, those at the very bottom of the happiness scale and everything in between, plus the factors that tend to lead to greater happiness.
-
New Mexico Game and Fish is now hiring 'professional bear huggers'
Bear lovers rejoice: The New Mexico Department of Game and Fish is hiring for 'professional bear huggers' with an adorable job listing posted on Facebook.
-
Experience Regina apologizes following criticism over 'offensive' slogans
Some residents of Saskatchewan's capital city have been vocal with their disapproval of Tourism Regina's latest rebrand, prompting an apology from the organization.
Sports
-
March Madness: Sweet 16 matchups are set after wild weekend
March Madness is heading to the Sweet 16 without a handful of top teams. Two No. 1 seeds, Kansas and Purdue, No. 2 seed Arizona and No. 4 seed Virginia are all gone -- and gone with them are millions of busted brackets.
-
W5
W5 | Parents of young player who died struggle to find answers within hockey's code of silence
The parents of young Ontario hockey player Ben Teague have been searching for answers since he died while at a team retreat in 2019. The mystery about what happened and the code of silence in hockey culture is explored in 'What Happened to Ben' on CTV W5.
-
Canada Soccer officials defend controversial deal with Canadian Soccer Business
Canada Soccer defended its controversial deal with Canada Soccer Business under questioning on Parliament Hill by the House of Commons heritage committee.
Autos
-
Scratched EV battery? Your insurer may have to junk the whole car
For many electric vehicles, there is no way to repair or assess even slightly damaged battery packs after accidents, forcing insurance companies to write off cars with few miles - leading to higher premiums and undercutting gains from going electric.
-
Ford recalls 1.5M vehicles to fix brake hoses, wiper arms
Ford is recalling more than 1.5 million vehicles in the U.S. in two actions to fix leaky brake hoses and windshield wiper arms that can break.
-
Volkswagen to invest in mines in bid to become global battery supplier
Volkswagen plans to invest in mines to bring down the cost of battery cells, meet half of its own demand and sell to third-party customers, the carmaker's board member in charge of technology said.
