Hong Kong ends limit on group gatherings, scraps vaccine pass
HONG KONG will end some of its last major Covid-19 rules, scrapping limits on public gatherings and no longer requiring proof of vaccination for entry to some venues, in a sweeping overhaul of policies aimed at reviving its reputation as a global financial centre.
There will be no cap on public gatherings, and the city’s vaccine pass will also be scrapped, starting from Thursday (Dec 29), the city’s chief executive John Lee said on Wednesday.
The city will also no longer require arrivals to undertake PCR tests, though they will be recommended to do rapid tests for five days. Close contacts of Covid-positive people won’t need to quarantine, he said.
The changes are based on a high immunity level in the city, sufficient medicine, experience of handling Covid-19 among healthcare workers, an improved emergency response system and better awareness among residents, said Lee. “The above mentioned changes are strongly pushing Hong Kong to recover,” he said.
While the changes mean that Hong Kong has done away with almost all of its major pandemic curbs — a mask mandate and daily rapid tests for schools remain — the incremental pace of loosening stands in stark contrast with the abrupt U-turn on the strict zero-Covid policy in mainland China.
The world’s second-biggest economy is set to emerge from almost three years of self-imposed global isolation early next month, after announcing an end to quarantine for inbound travelers, and no testing after arrival.
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It’s also set to resume issuing Hong Kong travel permits and reopen express checkpoints on the border, buoying the outlook for the financial hub that’s struggled to maintain its status as a global financial centre amid strict coronavirus curbs.
China announced that from Jan 8, there will be no quarantine for inbound travelers and no testing after arrival. It’s also set to resume issuing Hong Kong travel permits and reopen express checkpoints on the border, with the change coinciding with a massive outbreak across the country following the end of zero-Covid.
Hong Kong is set to reopen the border with mainland China on Jan 10 at the earliest, with priority for travel to the city given to those with business and family needs, the South China Morning Post (SCMP) newspaper reported, citing people it did not identify.
Moves to ease some of Hong Kong’s final Covid-19 curbs and reopen with the mainland would come despite an uptick in local infections and warnings about the strain being put on the health-care system from both Covid-19 and influenza.
The city reported more than 18,000 Covid-19 infections a day during the Christmas period, more than doubling from a month ago, and the number of patients in critical and serious condition is rising.
Some of the city’s public hospitals reported wait times of over eight hours in their emergency departments during the four-day holiday period, though that had declined to one-to-four hours on Wednesday.
A health official last week asked people with mild Covid-19 symptoms to consider using private medical services. The SCMP also reported Hong Kong’s local pharmacies are selling out of common antipyretics, including to send to friends and relatives in mainland China. BLOOMBERG
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