Hong Kong–Zhuhai–Macau Bridge in the context of "Pearl River Delta Economic Zone"

Zhuhai is a resort city located on the west bank of the Pearl River estuary, near Macau on the central coast of southern Guangdong, China, on the southeastern edge of the Pearl River Delta. Its name literally means "pearl sea", which originates from the city's location at the mouth of the Pearl River meeting the South China Sea. Zhuhai borders Jiangmen to the west, Zhongshan to the north and Macau to the southeast, and has a bridge connecting to Hong Kong.

Zhuhai was one of the original four Special Economic Zones established in 1980, as well as one of China's premier tourist destinations, being called the Chinese Riviera. While the city is located in the traditionally Cantonese-speaking province of Guangdong, a significant portion of the population is now made up of Mandarin-speaking economic migrants originally from inland provinces.

The COVID-19 pandemic in China is part of the worldwide pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). China was the first country to experience an outbreak of the disease, the first to impose drastic measures in response (including lockdowns and face mask mandates), and one of the first countries to bring the outbreak under control.

The first wave of the disease manifested as the 2019–2020 COVID-19 outbreak in mainland China, beginning with a cluster of mysterious pneumonia cases, mostly related to the Huanan Seafood Market, in Wuhan, the capital of Hubei province. It was first reported to the local government on 27 December 2019, and published on 31 December. On 8 January 2020, a new coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) was identified as the cause of the pneumonia by Chinese scientists. By 29 January, the virus was found to have spread to all provinces of mainland China. The virus was first confirmed to have spread to Hong Kong on 23 January 2020, thus originating the COVID-19 pandemic in Hong Kong. Confirmed cases were generally transferred to Princess Margaret Hospital's Infectious Disease Centre for isolation and centralized treatment. On 5 February, after a five-day strike by front-line medical workers, the Hong Kong government closed all but three border control points – Hong Kong International Airport, Shenzhen Bay Control Point, and Hong Kong–Zhuhai–Macau Bridge Control Point remaining open. The first case of the disease in Macau was confirmed on 22 January 2020, originating the COVID-19 pandemic in Macau. The city saw nine more cases by 4 February, but no more cases until 15 March, when imported cases began to appear. Until 26 April 2021, the city had 49 cumulative confirmed cases of COVID-19, all of those having recovered, and no deaths from the disease. Stringent government measures have included the 15-day closure of all 81 casinos in the territory in February; in addition, effective 25 March, the territory disallowed connecting flights at its airport as well as entry by all non-residents (with the exception of residents of mainland China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan), and from 6 April, the Hong Kong–Zhuhai–Macau Bridge was closed to public transport and most other traffic.

The COVID-19 pandemic in Hong Kong is part of the worldwide pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The virus was first confirmed to have spread to Hong Kong on 23 January 2020. Confirmed cases were generally transferred to Princess Margaret Hospital's Infectious Disease Centre for isolation and centralised treatment. On 5 February, after a five-day strike by front-line medical workers, the Hong Kong government closed all but three border control points, with Hong Kong International Airport, Shenzhen Bay Control Point, and Hong Kong–Zhuhai–Macau Bridge Control Point remaining open.

Hong Kong was relatively unscathed by the first wave of the COVID-19 outbreak, and had a flatter epidemic curve than most other places, which observers consider remarkable given its status as an international transport hub. Furthermore, its proximity to China and its millions of mainland visitors annually would make it vulnerable. Some experts now believe the habit of wearing masks in public since the SARS epidemic of 2003 may have helped keep its confirmed infections at 845, with four deaths, by the beginning of April. In a study published in April 2020 in the Lancet, the authors expressed their belief that border restrictions, quarantine and isolation, social distancing, and behavioural changes such as wearing masks likely all played a part in the containment of the disease up to the end of March. Others attributed the success to critical thinking of citizens who have become accustomed to distrusting the competence and political motivations of the government, the World Health Organization, and the Chinese Communist Party.

The COVID-19 pandemic in Macau was a part of the ongoing worldwide pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case of the disease in the special administrative region of China was confirmed on 22 January 2020. The city saw nine more cases by 4 February, but no more cases until 15 March, when imported cases began to appear. Stringent government measures have included the 15-day closure of all 81 casinos in the territory in February 2020; in addition, effective 25 March, the territory disallowed connecting flights at its airport as well as entry by all non-residents (with the exception of residents of mainland China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan), and from 6 April, the Hong Kong–Zhuhai–Macau Bridge was closed to public transport and most other traffic.

The territory had not suffered a major outbreak of COVID-19 until June 2022, when a cluster of locally transmitted COVID-19 cases prompted the government to implement restrictions, including the closure of non-essential businesses and repeated rounds of mandatory mass testing of its entire population, in line with mainland China's Zero-COVID policy (Portuguese: Meta Dinâmica de Infecção Zero).