A Government spokesman said today (April 2) that the operating hours of the passenger clearance services at the Shenzhen Bay Port will be adjusted to 10am to 8pm daily with effect from April 3 until further notice. The operating hours for cargo clearance will not be affected and remain unchanged (i.e. from 6:30 am to midnight daily).
 
     In response to the dire situation of the COVID-19 epidemic, the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Government and the Shenzhen Municipal Government have, after deliberation, agreed to shorten the operating hours of the passenger clearance services at the Shenzhen Bay Port to reduce the cross-boundary people flow and better utilise resources for epidemic prevention work at the control points. The operating hours for cargo clearance remains unchanged.
 
     In view of the development of the epidemic situation, the HKSAR Government has, since January 30, suspended passenger clearance services at 12 land-based and sea-based control points by phases. Currently, passenger clearance services are only available at two land-based control points, i.e. the Shenzhen Bay Port and the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge Hong Kong Port.  Separately, since February 8, all persons entering Hong Kong from the Mainland or having stayed in the Mainland in the past 14 days before arrival in Hong Kong are subject to compulsory quarantine for 14 days. The 14-day compulsory quarantine arrangement has been extended to persons entering Hong Kong from Macao from March 25 onwards.
 
     The above measures have been effective in reducing the cross-boundary people flow and the risk of spreading the virus. As of yesterday (April 1), the number of arrivals and departures via the Shenzhen Bay Port was 1 392 (of which 85 per cent were Hong Kong residents), representing a 97 per cent decrease compared with the figure prior to the implementation of the above measures. The number of arrivals and departures via the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge Hong Kong Port was 141 (nearly 80 per cent of which were Hong Kong residents), representing a 99 per cent decrease compared with the figures prior to the implementation of the above measures.
 
     All land-based cargo clearance services have been operating as usual. In March, there were an average of 8 197 trips by goods vehicles entering Hong Kong daily (8 186 trips departing Hong Kong), representing a 20 per cent increase compared with an average of 6 838 trips daily (6 815 trips departing Hong Kong) in January.  
 
     The spokesman appeals to members of the public to avoid all non-essential travel to places outside Hong Kong. They are advised to stay home and avoid social activities such as meal gatherings or other gatherings, and keep an appropriate social distance from other people as far as possible.

Ends/Thursday, April 2, 2020
Issued at HKT 19:10

NNNN