Travelers taking ferry services to Hong Kong and Macao will have to undergo four rounds of temperature checks before boarding a ferry at the Shekou Cruise Home Port (Shekou port) in Nanshan District as the port authority steps up prevention and control efforts against the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak, the Shenzhen Special Zone Daily reported.
Under the tightened prevention measures at the Shekou port, people taking a ferry to Hong Kong and Macao will undergo four temperatures checks at the port entrance, at the ticket inspection counters, at the customs clearance points and before boarding a ferry. People taking domestic ferry services to places like Zhuhai City in Guangdong Province will have temperature checks at the port entrance, at ticket inspection counters and before boarding a ferry.
According to a person in charge of the operation of the Shekou Cruise Home Port, an infrared thermometer system has been installed at the departure hall and the arrival hall to help detect people with a high fever. Port staffers will also conduct temperature checks on travelers with hand-held infrared thermometers. All vehicles entering the port area are subject to checks. Regular disinfection is performed at the port daily.
Medical personnel are stationed at the port to provide timely assistance and treatment to travelers suspected of COVID-19 infection.
The port authority has suspended all cruise tour services at the Shekou port and reduced its ferry services to discourage unnecessary traveling.
As demand for ferry services from the Hong Kong International Airport to Shenzhen has increased recently with the growing number of international travelers arriving at the Hong Kong airport, the Shekou port has worked with other government departments including Shekou Customs to pick up travelers from the Pearl River Delta area that have been recently stranded at the Hong Kong airport due to the closure of a number of checkpoints between Shenzhen and Hong Kong.
The Shekou port is one of the few checkpoints between Shenzhen and Hong Kong that remain open currently. The Shenzhen Bay Checkpoint is the only open land port between the two cities after the Hong Kong authority closed other land checkpoints such as Luohu, Futian, Huanggang, West Kowloon and Wenjindu due to the outbreak of COVID-19.
Currently, most travelers crossing the border to the SAR are Hong Kong residents, according to Shenzhen’s exit and entry administration.
“We have increased the manpower and security guards at the checkpoint to guide travelers to pass through the checkpoint in a shorter time to avoid crowds,” the official said.