Prognosis
Expat Exodus Builds in Hong Kong, But Escape Is Expensive
- Residents leaving face canceled flights, high shipping costs
- Some with pets are grouping together to charter private jets
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After calling Hong Kong home for 30 years, Tina, a self-employed mom, is calling it quits on the city and moving to Portugal. But with 10 booked flights to Europe canceled in the past year, her travails show how Hong Kong’s Covid-Zero policy is making getting out almost as hard as coming in.
Tina is currently reserved on a flight to Amsterdam the first week of March and has given her landlord notice. In addition to the stress of another nixed flight wreaking havoc on her plans, she also has to avoid catching the coronavirus in the midst of the city’s worst outbreak so far, as becoming infected could delay her exit potentially by weeks due to quarantine rules.