Similar to mainland China’s measures to control imported COVID-19 cases, Hong Kong has also been using a flight “circuit-breaker” mechanism: once the number of imported confirmed cases exceeds a threshold, flights operated by that airline from the same origin are suspended.

Today (July 7), the Hong Kong government announced that it will temporarily stop enforcing the inbound flight circuit-breaker mechanism. The reason is that the number of imported cases has not been particularly high, while the circuit-breaker disrupts many passengers’ travel plans and creates a very large impact. As a result, it has been suspended for now with no fixed end date. Flights that have already been suspended under the policy may also resume operations immediately.

The original intent of the route-specific “circuit-breaker mechanism” was to avoid a large number of cases being imported within a short period from certain higher-risk areas. However, a large number of passengers inevitably have their Hong Kong travel plans disrupted when a route is suspended. When flight capacity and designated quarantine hotel supply are tight, the resulting social cost is considerable. Taking a five-day route suspension as an example, it affects thousands of inbound travelers, who may then face difficulties rebooking designated quarantine hotels. July and August have traditionally been peak months for Hong Kong residents overseas—especially students studying abroad—to return to Hong Kong. The “circuit-breaker mechanism” therefore carries substantial social costs and creates unnecessary inconvenience for these international students and their families.

According to data analysis, nucleic acid testing at the airport under the “test-and-hold” arrangement and at designated quarantine hotels is already able to identify the vast majority of imported cases. In addition, under stringent border-control measures, the risk posed by imported cases has had a relatively limited impact on the local epidemic situation. In comparison, continuing to implement the “circuit-breaker mechanism” at this stage offers limited benefit in preventing imported cases. Taking into account the overarching principle of adopting precise anti-epidemic measures based on social cost-effectiveness, the government has decided to suspend the route-specific “circuit-breaker mechanism” with immediate effect until further notice. Flights currently suspended under the mechanism may also resume.

A government spokesman said: “The new measure is the result of the government’s careful review of the relevant data, taking into account that this is currently the peak period for overseas students returning to Hong Kong. The measure will help reduce the impact on arriving passengers, especially by allowing young people abroad to return to Hong Kong smoothly during the summer holiday to reunite with their families. It will also allow more precise and effective prevention of imported cases from entering the community, achieving the greatest anti-epidemic benefit at the lowest social cost.”

The government will continue to optimize quarantine and testing measures for arriving passengers, including operational procedures at the airport and designated quarantine hotels, as well as the capacity and speed of nucleic acid testing. The goal is to implement rigorous “prevent importation” measures in a more targeted way, while also improving quarantine arrangements for travelers arriving in Hong Kong from overseas regions and facilitating the movement of personnel necessary for economic and social recovery.

Hopefully mainland China will eventually copy this approach as well. When flights to China are suddenly canceled and rescheduled because of the circuit-breaker policy, the impact on passengers is also huge. Given the broader direction of loosening entry restrictions and allowing transit itineraries back to China, the circuit-breaker policy no longer seems especially helpful for the mainland either.