【明報專訊】For more than a year the COVID-19 pandemic has wrought havoc on the world, and the border between Hong Kong and mainland China has been closed for 475 days. This has seriously disrupted Hong Kong's economy and interactions between residents of the two regions. The SAR government has repeatedly proposed the reopening of the border to no avail. Now Hong Kong has not registered a major case of unknown sources for 27 consecutive days. It is on the road to a zero-case situation. The SAR government should discuss the reopening of the border again with the mainland government as soon as possible. Given the fact that there are still uncertainties concerning the pandemic, the reopening should be conducted in a gradual and orderly manner, so that things will gradually return to their former state ultimately.