Hong Kong will drop its vaccine pass scheme and risk-exposure app “at an appropriate time”, a senior health official has said amid mounting calls for more drastic easing of coronavirus restrictions.
Undersecretary for Health Libby Lee Ha-yun on Friday offered a glimpse into future policy directions for the city’s pandemic fight, a day after authorities cut the isolation and quarantine period for infected persons and close contacts to five days from seven.
“We will note public opinion and consider a basket of factors to review the use of ‘Leave Home Safe’. We will drop measures that have little effectiveness at an appropriate time,” Lee told a radio programme, referring to the government’s risk-exposure app.
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“Hong Kong is on the path to normality. We don’t want to roll back measures. Residents will not need to use the ‘Leave Home Safe’ app and vaccine pass eventually. It is just a matter of time.”
Lee conceded that the government had rarely used the risk-exposure app to track contacts of Covid-19 patients as infections surged. The app records the time and venue visited by users when they scan codes at citywide premises.
But she stressed it was not an appropriate time to relax social-distancing measures as the city’s caseload was on the rise.
In a Legislative Council meeting, health secretary Lo Chung-mau struck a less optimistic tone on the possible cancellation of the app used to enter certain premises and the vaccine pass scheme in the near future, despite mainland China’s recent Covid-19 policy shift to ease most curbs, including its health code system, two days ago.
“The health code system on the mainland is nothing like our ‘Leave Home Safe’ app and vaccine pass scheme,” he said. “We won’t simply cancel these measures because the mainland did so.”
“These measures have played an important role in controlling the pandemic, especially the vaccine pass scheme. It’s the reason why we have a high vaccination rate.”
He added the scheme would continue for now to encourage vaccination as there was an unsatisfactory jab rate among elderly residents and children.
Lo explained that while Hong Kong and the mainland were working towards the same goal in their anti-pandemic efforts, they had adopted varying measures because of differences in population structure, healthcare systems, vaccination rates and immunity barriers.
The health minister also said he believed it was very unlikely that the mainland would ease its “5+3” entry rule during the Lunar New Year. Under the scheme, incoming visitors are required to undergo five days of hotel quarantine and three days of health monitoring.
“Although the mainland has adjusted its anti-pandemic measures, those are all internal control measures. I do not think resuming quarantine-free travel between Hong Kong and the mainland is a topic for now,” he said.
Hong Kong on Thursday reported 14,373 new coronavirus cases, including 798 imported infections, the highest since March 19. Another 27 deaths were also recorded.
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With the mainland’s major shift from its zero-Covid policy earlier this week, the incremental relaxations announced by the Hong Kong government on Thursday were deemed to be insufficient by the business sector and health experts.
“The government has not used the app to collect information since the outbreak of the fifth wave. Its previous anti-pandemic role has become history. It is ineffective to continue using it. I don’t understand why the government does not cancel it,” University of Hong Kong (HKU) microbiologist Dr Ho Pak-leung told another radio programme.
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He suggested that authorities keep the vaccine pass arrangement without linking it with the app. Residents could simply show their inoculation records upon entering premises such as restaurants, or staff could conduct random checks, he said.
But Jin Dongyan, an HKU virologist, voiced reservations on dropping the vaccine pass, pointing out that 110,000 elderly residents aged above 80 had yet to receive their first jab. He said authorities might drop the measure if the vaccination rate stagnated and there was a change in approach.
Both Ho and Jin suggested the government take a further step by dropping polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests for arrivals.
“PCR testing upon arrival has become a high-cost and low-effectiveness measure. I think it can be scrapped,” Ho argued, adding that a rapid antigen test (RAT) would suffice.
He said the city’s local cases mostly involved the same variant as imported ones, and arrival PCR tests would no longer be useful for analysis.
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Ho added that the government could also consider dropping the amber code regime for inbound travellers, allowing them to enter restaurants and bars upon a negative RAT test during their first three days of arrival.
Under the latest arrangements taking effect on Friday, airport arrivals need to undergo daily RATs for five days instead of seven. However, they still need to take a PCR test upon landing and on their third day, under the current “0+3” regime.
Residents and arrivals found to be infected are allowed to leave isolation on the fifth day instead of the seventh, if they test negative for two days in a row.
The latest eased rules, to persist over the Christmas holidays, were still unsatisfactory for the catering sector.
Jin echoed Ho’s view to replace PCR tests with RATs and also apply this to staff at elderly care homes. Such workers currently have to undergo a PCR test before reporting for duty.
“The sensitivity of RAT tests is not that bad. Doing RAT tests three times is better than just doing PCR once,” Jin said.
He added that the government could consider whether to treat Covid-19 like the flu to free up more resources, such as allowing private doctors to see infected cases and housing coronavirus patients in general hospital wards.
More from South China Morning Post:
- Coronavirus: Hong Kong further eases isolation rules but ongoing surge in cases keeps city from lifting social-distancing measures over holidays
- Coronavirus: mainland China’s easing should spur Hong Kong to ask for border reopening, business leaders and health experts say
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