• However, whereas Singapore has made steady progress toward reopening in recent months,
• Hong Kong remains trapped in limitations that opponents argue are losing it business and talent, with Singapore reaping the benefits.
• Travel has increased in recent weeks as the city has eliminated mandatory quarantines.

When Daniel Chow left Singapore for a job in Hong Kong in 2020, he anticipated his wife and two young sons to join him as soon as the pandemic subsided and the Chinese territory abandoned its “zero-Covid” stance.

After two years of frustration, Chow has returned to Singapore, citing the persistent limitations of living in Hong Kong even as the rest of the world opens up.

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“We decided that my family won’t move” to Hong Kong, said Chow, 43, who works in investment services. “Schools keep getting shut down, and the city has tight restrictions on movement. Kids are the ones who have suffered the most.”

For the majority of the pandemic, Hong Kong and Singapore — both densely populated Asian financial cities with citizens from all over the world — used border closures, rigorous quarantine regulations, and comprehensive testing and contact tracing to keep virus infections and deaths to a minimum.

However, whereas Singapore has made steady progress toward reopening in recent months, Hong Kong remains trapped in limitations that opponents argue are losing it business and talent, with Singapore reaping the benefits.

Singapore was one of the first Asian countries to open its borders to the rest of the globe. Travel has increased in recent weeks as the city has eliminated mandatory quarantines, pre-departure testing for vaccinated people, and an outside mask requirement. The city of almost 5 million people reports an average of 6,000 incidents every day.

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Hong Kong has also taken steps to relax restrictions, reopening the border to nonresidents, resuming in-person classes, and allowing bars and other businesses to operate for the first time since January.

However, passengers arriving from outside must still be quarantined in hotels for seven days at their own expense, which is a strain for frequent travelers like Chow, who was returning to Singapore to see his family.

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