Hong Kong to roll out China-style health code to open border

A woman scans a QR code for the Hong Kong government’s LeaveHomeSafe app, used for contact tracing amid the Covid-19 pandemic, at a market in the Kowloon City area. — AFP

Hong Kong will roll out a China-style tracking app to reopen its mainland border, officials announced, closing a gap in surveillance that had been a sticking point in protracted travel talks.

“Our current idea is that the Hong Kong Health Code will be used with LeaveHomeSafe,” Chief Secretary John Lee said at a briefing on Thursday evening, explaining that the city’s current contact tracing app wouldn’t be retired.