Coronavirus: why Hong Kong phone vendors are ringing up sales of old models with ‘Leave Home Safe’ app
- Now that app is needed for entry to many public venues, those without smartphones rush to buy
- Shops clear old stocks, charge customers ‘service fee’ to install free contact-tracing app
Construction mechanic Yau, 65, and his wife spent Thursday afternoon at a Mong Kok shop looking for a smartphone with the Hong Kong government’s “Leave Home Safe” contact-tracing application installed.
They settled on a second-hand model going for HK$700 (US$90) at a shop in Sin Tat Plaza.
“I always forget my phone password and find it hard to use a smartphone,” grumbled Mrs Yau, 60, a retiree with poor eyesight and bad memory.
Her husband said his old press-button phone could not install the app, and he needed a smartphone to scan the QR code to enter public buildings, including government offices, wet markets, clinics and leisure facilities.
“I heard that people are lining up to scan the code when they enter government buildings, so I think this will make it easier for me and also for others,” he said.
