Hong Kong officials say they are still working with their counterparts across the border on the resumption of quarantine-free entry to the mainland and they hope this can be implemented by the middle of next month.

On Monday, the mainland's National Health Commission announced that from January 8, inbound travellers will no longer have to spend time in quarantine.

An SAR government spokesman on Tuesday did not specify whether this relaxation in China's pandemic restrictions will apply to travel across the Hong Kong-mainland border, saying only that the quarantine-free journeys Hongkongers are longing for will become a reality very soon.

The spokesman said the authorities on either side of the border are working together for a gradual and orderly resumption of cross-border travel.

Once Hong Kong and Guangdong authorities have agreed on a plan it will be submitted to Beijing for approval, the spokesman said, adding that it is hoped that quarantine-free travel can resume by mid-January.