Mainland, Hong Kong working toward resumption of quarantine-free travel: spokesperson

BEIJING, Nov. 4 (Xinhua) -- The Chinese mainland and Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) are working together on the resumption of quarantine-free travel between the mainland and Hong Kong, and their efforts are proceeding in an orderly fashion, a central government spokesperson said Thursday.

The central authorities care a lot about the COVID-19 epidemic situation in Hong Kong, and the relevant central departments attach great importance to the issue of resuming quarantine-free travel, the spokesperson with the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office of the State Council said in a statement.

The spokesperson said Hong Kong has made notable progress on anti-epidemic work and achieved the goal of clearing infections on an ongoing basis, thanks to joint efforts from the HKSAR government and different sectors of the community.

In particular, the HKSAR government has recently continued adjusting and improving the region's anti-epidemic measures and mechanisms, and further consolidated the progress on preventing both the importation of cases and the resurgence of local infections, said the spokesperson.

The relevant central departments and the HKSAR government have been maintaining close contacts on COVID-19 epidemic control, said the spokesperson, adding that experts from the mainland and Hong Kong held another meeting recently to study the epidemic situation and discuss a range of issues, reaching agreement on many points.