China may partially open Hong Kong border by late January: Report

China may drop quarantine for Hong Kong residents traveling into the mainland next month, according to local media reports, as the country speeds up its shift away from strict Covid control.

There is “a good chance” of a “large-scale” pilot program for quarantine-free travel before the Lunar New Year holidays, which start on Jan. 22, the South China Morning Post reported on Saturday, citing two mainland sources. Beijing-backed Ta Kung Pao also reported on Monday that quarantine-free travel from the city could resume around that time, citing a person it didn’t identify.

The border with mainland China has been effectively closed since February 2020. Visitors from Hong Kong are limited by a daily quota, while they also have to undergo five days of hotel quarantine. That has cut the city off from its vast hinterland as well as drastically reduced the number of visitors. In 2019, there were more than 236 million passenger trips via land crossings across the border.

A full reopening would come at a “later stage” and would depend on the Covid situation in Guangdong and other neighboring provinces, the SCMP reported, citing an unnamed Beijing-based official. Mainland officials are checking immigration equipment at the border to make sure they still work, the SCMP said.

Hong Kong’s leader John Lee said on Sunday the government will conduct a full review of the city’s Covid measures, including the city’s Leavehomesafe app used to enter venues, and he expects to get a report “soon.” Reducing restrictions on people crossing the border is a priority, he told reporters, without giving any timetable for resuming quarantine-free travel.

China may start reopening the border for business and commercial purposes this month, Hong Kong lawmaker Ben Chan said in a Facebook post on Monday, citing sources. “Hurray for the gradual return to normalcy,” he wrote.

Read more: China stops Covid tracking app, cases drop sharply from all-time highs: 7 points

Expectations for Hong Kong to drop its remaining Covid restrictions are growing after the central government did a rapid U-turn on Covid Zero last week. On Friday, Hong Kong said it will shorten the isolation period for people who test positive for Covid and their close contacts, and will require inbound travelers to take two fewer rapid tests.

In a further sign of easing, trucks from Hong Kong can now go directly to points on the mainland to transport goods, and there will be no quota, the Transport and Logistics Bureau said in a statement on Sunday. Previously drivers could only go to designated checkpoints. The Hospital Authority also relaxed their Covid isolation and screening rules for patients from Friday, the SCMP reported, citing an internal circular.

The city may take a cautious approach, given the rise in local infections. Hong Kong reported almost 15,000 cases on Friday, and 24 deaths.

Health minister Lo Chung-mau suggested Hong Kong will keep its LeaveHomeSafe app, which people have to use to enter places such as restaurants and bars.

“We may adjust the function of the LeaveHomeSafe app, but I think it’s a very good app which has helped Hong Kong in the fight against pandemic, perhaps in the future we may still rely on it to fight against other emerging infectious diseases,” Lo told reporters on Sunday.

Lo didn’t provide further details on how the app may evolve, saying it played an important role in contact tracing.

China is scrapping its mobile app used to track people’s travel history from Tuesday. The app was adopted in 2020 during the pandemic by an academy under the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and China’s three major mobile operators.