For the first time in more than two years, Hong Kong will allow non-residents to enter the financial hub in May, a modest step toward easing the city’s stringent coronavirus restrictions, which have transformed it into one of the world’s most isolated places.

The government of Hong Kong announced in a statement on Friday that the rules for airlines carrying sick COVID-19 patients will be loosened slightly, with the threshold for delaying incoming aircraft rising to five infected passengers from three currently.

Individual airline route bans will be reduced from seven to five days.

According to the government, foreign visitors will be subjected to the same procedures as citizens.

Following a peak of more than 70,000 infections on March 3, daily infections have been below 1000 for more than a week.

Since early 2020, Hong Kong’s borders have been essentially locked, with few flights and weeks of quarantine for newcomers.

The majority of planes arriving in Hong Kong, which prides itself on being an east-meets-west crossroads, are from mainland China and a few other Asian destinations.

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According to government data, Cathay Pacific, Emirates, Qantas, and KLM were among the airlines whose flight itineraries were restricted this week. So far this year, there have been more than 70 flight restrictions.

On April 1, the former British colony lifted a ban on flights from nine countries, including the United States and the United Kingdom, and reduced the quarantine period for residents from 14 to seven days, but the still-stringent criteria mean that few flights can operate in what was once one of the world’s busiest transit hubs.

Hong Kong has followed mainland China’s lead in enacting a “dynamic zero” coronavirus policy aimed at preventing all outbreaks.

Thousands of residents attempting to return to Hong Kong have been hit by last-minute cancellations, leaving many scurrying to find alternate ways while also ensuring they can acquire a quarantine hotel room due to a lack of availability.

Hong Kong also reopened gyms, beauty parlours, theme parks and cinemas on Thursday for the first time in more than four months