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
Upgrading Safe Third Country Agreement about reassuring Canadians: PM Trudeau
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says he feels it is his role to see the Safe Third Country Agreement upgraded, in order to make sure Canadians can continue to have confidence in Canada's immigration system.
Largest recorded Alberta earthquake not natural, from oilsands wastewater: study
The largest recorded earthquake in Alberta's history was not a natural event, but most likely caused by disposal of oilsands wastewater, new research has concluded.
Han Dong resigns from Liberal caucus amid foreign interference allegations
Han Dong has announced he will be sitting as an independent MP after being the subject of foreign interference allegations.
Foreign mothers of Canadian children seek escape from ISIS detention camp
A group of lawyers is racing against the clock to get Canadian children and their foreign-born mothers onto a plane that will soon be dispatched to repatriate detainees from prison camps in northeast Syria.
Budget 2023 to detail crackdown on 'junk fees' for consumers: federal source
A federal source says the coming budget will detail how the Liberals plan to go after hidden or unexpected consumer fees, following the United States announcing its own crackdown on these charges.
Former prime minister Stephen Harper says Canada needs a 'Conservative renaissance'
Canada needs a 'Conservative renaissance,' former prime minister Stephen Harper said Wednesday, but he cautioned that Pierre Poilievre should wait until an election before telling Canadians how he might run the country.
All the details we know so far about the coronation of King Charles III
The coronation of King Charles III will take place in May, in a ceremony that is expected to be less extravagant, while underscoring a new era for the Royal Family.
Gwyneth Paltrow ski collision trial set for family testimony
Two daughters of a retired optometrist suing Gwyneth Paltrow are expected to testify on Thursday about the lasting effects of their father and Paltrow's 2016 ski collision as the trial takes on an increasingly personal note on the third day of proceedings.
Parks Canada says new reservation system working well as bookings open in busy Banff
Parks Canada says its new online reservation system to book camping sites and other activities at national parks appears to have worked well during its first week of operations.
Canada
-
Largest recorded Alberta earthquake not natural, from oilsands wastewater: study
The largest recorded earthquake in Alberta's history was not a natural event, but most likely caused by disposal of oilsands wastewater, new research has concluded.
-
One week later: Rescuers continue search for victims in rubble of Old Montreal fire
It's been one week since a devastating fire tore through a historic building in Old Montreal, killing at least four.
-
Staff members stabbed at N.S. high school released from hospital; student remains in custody
Two staff members who were stabbed at a Halifax-area high school have been released from hospital, while the student accused in the stabbing remains in custody.
-
Parks Canada says new reservation system working well as bookings open in busy Banff
Parks Canada says its new online reservation system to book camping sites and other activities at national parks appears to have worked well during its first week of operations.
-
Edmonton Police Service announces death of constable
The Edmonton Police Service announced the death of an officer on Tuesday.
-
Top 4 quirky consumer complaints received in 2022: BBB
The Better Business Bureau (BBB) says it receives tens of thousands of complaints from consumers across Canada each year, but once in a while a "quirky" one will take them by surprise.
World
-
Tourist survives bungee jump fall in Thailand after cord snaps
Some thrill seekers describe bungee jumping as a near-death experience, but few come quite as close as one man who managed to survive his cord snapping in Thailand.
-
U.S. denies Chinese claim it drove away American destroyer
The United States denied Chinese claims Thursday that its military had driven away an American guided-missile destroyer from operating around disputed islands in the South China Sea as tensions rise in the region between the two powers.
-
Australia sets wording of Indigenous Voice referendum
The Australian government on Thursday released the wording of a referendum question that promises the nation's Indigenous population a greater say on policies that affect their lives.
-
U.K.: Man charged over 2 fire attacks on people near mosques
British police have charged a 28-year-old man with two counts of attempted murder after men were set on fire near mosques.
-
Anger at Macron mounts as French unions hold new protests
French unions on Thursday are holding their first mass demonstrations since President Emmanuel Macron inflamed public anger by forcing a higher retirement age through parliament without a vote. Strikes are upending travel, and blockades are expected at ports, refineries and garbage dumps.
-
U.S. library association reports record book ban attempts in 2022
Attempted book bans and restrictions at school and public libraries continue to surge, setting a record in 2022, according to a new report from the American Library Association being released Thursday.
Politics
-
Upgrading Safe Third Country Agreement about reassuring Canadians: PM Trudeau
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says he feels it is his role to see the Safe Third Country Agreement upgraded, in order to make sure Canadians can continue to have confidence in Canada's immigration system.
-
Han Dong resigns from Liberal caucus amid foreign interference allegations
Han Dong has announced he will be sitting as an independent MP after being the subject of foreign interference allegations.
-
Firm handshakes, hard lines: Trudeau, Biden to talk protectionism, Haiti, migration
He's hell-bent on restoring blue-collar American manufacturing to its former glory, considers free trade a dirty word and wants Canada to wade voluntarily into a failed, gang-ravaged state that's a quagmire waiting to happen.
Health
-
Canada's stockpile of ventilators up from 500 to 27,000 after push to procure them
Canada's race to procure ventilators for COVID-19 patients in the early days of the pandemic had researchers, scientists, industry and a notable astrophysicist working 'night and day' to design machines that could be quickly manufactured domestically.
-
Equatorial Guinea confirms 8 new cases of Marburg virus
Equatorial Guinea has confirmed another eight cases of the 'highly virulent' Marburg virus, a deadly hemorrhagic fever with no authorized vaccine or treatment.
-
Grindr partners with free HIV test program
Grindr, the popular LGBTQ2S+ dating app, is partnering with a program distributing free at-home HIV tests as part of a new public health initiative in the U.S.
Sci-Tech
-
TikTok CEO faces off with Congress over security, safety fears
The CEO of TikTok will make a high-profile appearance Thursday before a U.S. Congressional committee, where he'll face a grilling on data security and user safety while he makes his own case for why the hugely popular video-sharing app shouldn't be banned.
-
5 planets will align in an arc across the night sky next week
Sky-gazers will be treated to a parade of planets near the end of month when Jupiter, Mercury, Venus, Uranus and Mars will appear together in the night sky.
-
Launch debut of 3D-printed rocket ends in failure, no orbit
A rocket made almost entirely of 3D-printed parts made its launch debut Wednesday night, lifting off amid fanfare but failing three minutes into flight -- far short of orbit. There was nothing aboard Relativity Space's test flight except for the company's first metal 3D print made six years ago.
Entertainment
-
Texas university students protest drag show's cancellation
Protests continued Wednesday at a university in the Texas Panhandle after the school's president said a planned campus drag show wouldn't be allowed and expressed the view that such events 'discriminate against womanhood.'
-
Gisele Bundchen is opening up about the end of her marriage to Tom Brady
Gisele Bundchen is opening up about the end of her marriage to Tom Brady, comparing it to a 'death and a rebirth.'
-
Gwyneth Paltrow ski collision trial set for family testimony
Two daughters of a retired optometrist suing Gwyneth Paltrow are expected to testify on Thursday about the lasting effects of their father and Paltrow's 2016 ski collision as the trial takes on an increasingly personal note on the third day of proceedings.
Business
-
Accenture cuts jobs, trims forecasts on worries of lower IT spending
Accenture Plc lowered its annual revenue and profit forecasts and said on Thursday it would cut about 2.5% of its workforce, the latest sign that the worsening global economic outlook was sapping corporate spending on IT services.
-
Anger at Macron mounts as French unions hold new protests
French unions on Thursday are holding their first mass demonstrations since President Emmanuel Macron inflamed public anger by forcing a higher retirement age through parliament without a vote. Strikes are upending travel, and blockades are expected at ports, refineries and garbage dumps.
-
Heavily indebted Chinese developer proposes restructuring
A Chinese real estate developer whose struggle to manage more than $300 billion in debt rattled global financial markets announced a long-awaited plan Thursday to restructure what it owes to foreign bondholders.
Lifestyle
-
This artist makes his own ink from nature, here's how
Toronto business owner Jason Logan makes ink from natural products that he forages himself -- a practice that is centuries old.
-
Ai Weiwei recreates Monet's water lilies using 650,000 Lego pieces
When Ai Weiwei opens his new show in April, visitors will encounter a familiar scene at London's Design Museum: Claude Monet's famed water lilies. But the monumental recreation is made from the studs of Lego bricks — a whopping 650,000 of them.
-
New Brunswick man shares unlikely, heartwarming friendship with squirrel
An animal rescue situation has turned into a unique friendship for a New Brunswick man and his new friend Peanut, a grey squirrel.
Sports
-
Lazio fan wearing 'Hitlerson' shirt among 3 banned for life
A fan wearing a shirt with a reference to Adolf Hitler was banned for life from attending Lazio matches by the Roman club on Wednesday.
-
Andreescu defeats Raducanu, Fernandez tops Tsurenko in Miami
Bianca Andreescu and Leylah Fernandez completed a first-round sweep for Canadians in the women's singles draw at the Miami Open with wins on Wednesday.
-
After player input, MLB allows some pitch clock delays
Major League Baseball has clarified its new rules to allow umpires to delay the start of the pitch clock after big swings in which a hitter loses footing or when a pitcher covers first base, third or home, in addition to other clarifications announced Wednesday.
Autos
-
GM to stop making the Camaro but a successor may be in works
The Chevrolet Camaro, for decades the dream car of many teenage American males, is going out of production. General Motors, which sells the brawny muscle car, said Wednesday it will stop making the current generation early next year.
-
U.S. probes reports of steering glitch on 2022, 2023 Honda Civics
U.S. auto safety regulators are investigating complaints from Honda Civic drivers that their steering can stick, causing a momentary increase in effort and increasing the risk of a crash.
-
Last call: Dodge unveils last super-fast gasoline muscle car
The 2023 Challenger SRT Demon 170 will deliver 1,025 horsepower from its 6.2-litre supercharged V-8, and the automaker says it will be the quickest production car made.
