China has resumed high-speed rail services between Hong Kong and the mainland for the first time since the beginning of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
The resumption took effect on Sunday morning amid a massive wave of infections nationwide and a day after authorities said nearly 60,000 people with COVID-19 had died in hospital, following last month’s abrupt U-turn on “zero-COVID” policy in the wake of historic protests.
Amidst the infections, some passengers voiced excitement and relief about being able to easily return to their hometowns in time for the approaching Lunar New Year.
“The resumption of the high-speed railway has made it very convenient for us and has brought us closer to home,” said Mang Lee, 33.
Mang was among dozens going through border checks at Hong Kong’s West Kowloon station before boarding trains.
For the past three years, due to the pandemic, it has not been easy to enter China in any way,” added Mang, originally from the southern city of Guangzhou. “I have not been able to go home for a long time.”
A surge in travel ahead of the holiday celebrations set to begin on Jan. 21, as hundreds of millions of people return home from cities to small towns and rural areas, has fuelled worries about more infections.
Saturday’s updated death toll was a huge increase over previous figures, following global criticism of China’s coronavirus data.
The move was welcomed by the World Health Organisation, although the body called for more detailed data.
