Hong Kong will allow non-residents to enter the financial hub from May for the first time in more than two years, a small step in unwinding stringent coronavirus restrictions which have turned the city into one of the world's most isolated places, reports Reuters.

Hong Kong's rules for airlines that carry infected Covid-19 patients will also be eased slightly, the government said in a statement, with the threshold for suspending incoming flights rising to five infected passengers from three currently.

A ban on individual airline routes will be shortened to five days from 7.

Foreign travellers will be subject to the same procedure as residents, the government said.