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Coronavirus: Hong Kong’s new ‘Leave Home Safe’ mandate could leave homeless, others lacking smartphones without access to key services, NGO warns
- Access to government facilities many rely on for everything from showers to processing aid documents will require use of the contact-tracing app from November 1
- City confirms two new imported Covid-19 infections, involving arrivals from the Philippines and Maldives
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Hong Kong’s move to mandate the use of its Covid-19 contact-tracing app at government buildings will hit homeless residents and other vulnerable groups in need of services hard given that many lack smartphones, an NGO has warned.
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The new policy, seen as a first step towards placating Beijing’s concerns over the eventual reopening of the border with mainland China, comes as local officials have been under fire for failing to secure a deal despite an improving vaccination rate and months with effectively no local coronavirus cases.
Concerns over the plan emerged as Hong Kong on Friday confirmed new two imported Covid-19 cases, travellers from the Philippines and the Maldives. They took the city’s overally tally to 12,313 infections, with 213 related deaths.
A meeting last month between experts and officials from the Hong Kong and mainland sides made little progress, with Chief Secretary John Lee Ka-chiu announcing on his return that the city needed to improve in a number of areas, including strengthening its contact-tracing efforts.
Officials previously said one option would be to improve the existing “Leave Home Safe” contact-tracing app for people hoping to travel to the mainland. More than 4.8 million users had downloaded the app as of July.
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