Coronavirus: Hong Kong ‘to review rules’ for issuing provisional vaccine passes to travellers after tourist brags about lax jab requirements
- Source says authorities considering raising jab threshold for temporary vaccine pass, with health expert arguing move would ensure everyone is treated equally
- Daily Covid-19 infection tally remains under 10,000 for fifth day as Hong Kong logs 7,579 new cases on Wednesday
Hong Kong will review the criteria for issuing provisional vaccine passes needed to enter most public premises, the Post has learned, after an arrival bragged on social media that she could “go anywhere” despite never having been inoculated against Covid-19.
Requiring arrivals to meet the same criteria that residents must to obtain the pass would ensure everyone was treated equally, said Dr Joseph Tsang Kay-yan, co-chairman of the Medical Association’s advisory committee on communicable diseases, on Wednesday. The exemption was not ideal as it could give a wrong impression and contradicted China’s policy on encouraging vaccination, he argued.
“The risk of travellers from the mainland getting Covid in Hong Kong is high. They need to balance this. If they are infected here, will they occupy our public healthcare system? Will it tighten the supply of isolation wards?” Tsang told a radio programme.
A government source earlier said authorities were discussing whether travellers should be required to have received three vaccine shots, the same number that residents must have, to enter shopping malls, restaurants and about a dozen other types of venues.
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The review was prompted by a social media uproar over a mainland Chinese traveller who said she had free rein of Hong Kong despite being unvaccinated against Covid-19.
“You can go anywhere without an injection. Unvaccinated Shenzhen residents can enter and exit public places without quarantine when arriving in Hong Kong,” she posted online.
The city’s current entry regime allows arrivals from Macau, Taiwan and the mainland to obtain a provisional vaccine pass without getting inoculated, while inbound travellers from the rest of the world must have received two jabs to qualify.
“The authorities are now considering raising the threshold for getting a temporary vaccine pass given the change of circumstances,” the government source said earlier.
After hitting a high of 11,091 on September 8, daily coronavirus cases remained below 10,000 for a fifth day as Hong Kong logged 7,579 new infections on Wednesday, 161 of which were imported. Ten additional deaths were also reported.
However, Dr Chuang Shuk-kwan, of the Centre for Health Protection, said the recent dip in reported cases might not reflect the actual number of infections over the extended weekend celebrating the Mid-Autumn Festival, despite various factors indicating a stabilising trend.
“The only thing we are concerned about now is whether infections related to BA.5 have peaked, which comprised about 70 per cent [of all cases] … and we have to wait and see if there is a rebound after the holiday,” she said, referring to a more transmissive strain of the Omicron subvariant which health experts had considered a contributor in the previous surge.
A spokesman for the Health Bureau earlier said authorities were considering standardising practices for issuing temporary vaccine passes, with an announcement to be made at a later stage.
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Explaining why local authorities had granted exemptions to arrivals from the mainland, Taiwan and Macau, the government source said all three were considered low-risk locations since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020, with each previously reporting low case numbers due to their strict anti-epidemic policies.
Meanwhile, inbound travellers from the rest of the world must declare their non-local vaccination or recovery records at either Hong Kong’s post offices or the border to obtain a temporary pass. Once their status expires after six months, arrivals must get a third shot to qualify for a regular pass.
Despite requiring eligible Hongkongers aged 12 and above from May to receive three shots before they could enter various premises under the vaccine pass, the government had acknowledged such practices were not standard across the rest of the world and opted for a lower threshold for arrivals, the insider said.
“Given three-dose vaccination is now widely available in many places, and most travellers are also fully vaccinated, should the government increase the number of doses required and shorten the six-month grace period? These are the areas being reviewed,” the source said.
Those taking part in the “Return2HK” and “Come2HK” are also not required to be vaccinated, with the schemes providing limited spaces for city residents, mainland travellers and expatriates to come to Hong Kong.
Lawmaker Michael Tien Puk-sun also agreed the exemptions were contradictory. He said the vaccination requirement for travellers should be aimed at reducing infection risk to avoid placing more pressure on the local medical system, rather than be based on their point of origin.
“How can you persuade Hong Kong residents to accept the fact that they are barred from entering specified premises if they have not received two vaccine doses, while travellers from the mainland are exempted from such requirements?” he said.
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He also noted a loophole in the “Return2HK” requirement, as unvaccinated residents in Hong Kong can apply for a provisional vaccine pass if they cross the border for a short stay on the other side and come back to the city, a process Tien described as “ironic”.
Asked if the current rules for issuing temporary passes had created a loophole in the city’s border control measures, Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu on Tuesday said such arrangements had existed for a long time, with no imported cases from the mainland being reported as a result.
“Of course, we would monitor the pandemic situation and review according to the actual situation,” he added.
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Separately, a secondary school on Wednesday announced the suspension of on-campus teaching and activities for one week, in response to advice from health officials.
Christian Alliance Cheng Wing Gee College, in Tai Wai, made the decision after recording 53 coronavirus cases comprising 39 students and 14 teachers across 16 classes.
The institution has a nearly 700-strong student body organised into 25 classes, with 87 teachers.
Hong Kong’s overall tally stands at 1,674,709 cases and 9,830 related deaths.
Additional reporting by Olga Wong and Ezra Cheung
