Hong Kong - The Asian financial hub looks set to play it safer and tighten quarantine rules for vaccinated travellers and possibly even Hong Kong residents from medium-risk places, following the advice of two scientific committees.
Without giving details, Chief Executive Carrie Lam on Tuesday (Aug 17) said only inoculated people from low-risk places will have their quarantine shortened if they have a positive antibody test result.
"In other words, the quarantine period will not be shortened on the basis of an antibody test, save for Group C (low-risk) places, which is only one (New Zealand).
"People coming from all the other places that are non-Group C will not have their quarantine period at the designated hotels shortened," she added.
The U-turn comes as the two scientific committees - on vaccine preventable diseases and emerging and zoonotic diseases - wanted the government to reverse a decision made earlier to use the antibody test as a tool to reduce quarantine.
This decision was based on their advice in June.
The latest tightening follows the committees' meeting on Monday (Aug 16).
The committees' experts believe quarantine periods for some places should double following the case of a vaccinated foreign domestic helper.
The 38-year-old was confirmed with the Delta variant after finishing the compulsory seven-day quarantine.
Between April and Aug 15, government adviser David Hui noted that there were 52 cases of vaccinated people confirmed with Covid-19.
Of these, 88 per cent carried mutant strains, mainly L452R.
Hence, he said, if people quarantine for only seven days, there is a 12 per cent chance of these cases slipping into the community.
Defending the tightening, Mrs Lam said: "I have to apologise to those people who have been inconvenienced or who have had their plans disrupted as a result of this change in the use of the antibody test."
"But I hope they will understand everything we are doing is to protect Hong Kong from another major outbreak that we have seen and we have suffered," she added, ahead of the weekly Executive Council meeting.
Mrs Lam said the government is not rigid but that it has to "make adjustments constantly to respond to different aspirations".
Related Story
Businesses in Hong Kong slam tightened Covid-19 travel curbs
Related Story
Hong Kong to tighten Covid-19 quarantine rules for travellers from 16 countries
Details of the tightened measures are expected to be announced by the Secretary for Food and Health Sophia Chan later in the day.
Currently, residents and visitors who are vaccinated and coming from medium-risk places, which include Singapore, Japan and South Korea, have to undergo a 14-day quarantine, besides showing a negative test result before their flight.
Residents who are not inoculated have to go through 21 days of quarantine.
Those who are fully vaccinated and have a positive antibody test conducted by a laboratory recognised by the Hong Kong government are subject to a quarantine lasting seven days. They have to spend another seven days to self-monitor.
Mandatory quarantine for fully vaccinated visitors from low-risk places is seven days.
Only Hong Kong residents who are fully vaccinated can enter the city if they are coming from high-risk places such as the United States, India and Brazil. Besides having to present a negative test result for Covid-19 before boarding their flight, they also have to be in quarantine for 21 days and self-monitor for another seven.
As at Monday night, the vaccination rate for those who have received their first dose stands at about 55 per cent of the eligible population, still below the 70 per cent target of the government.
Experts who met on Monday night said this goal has to be raised to 80 per cent or 90 per cent due to the more infectious Delta variant.
In the past 28 days, there has been only one local infection detected.
So far, Hong Kong has recorded more than 12,000 confirmed cases and 212 deaths - one of the lowest in the world.
Related Story
Hong Kong recalibrates Covid-19 strategy to maintain zero-infection record
Related Story
HK leader urges community to get vaccinated before next Covid-19 wave hits
Related Stories:
Related Story
Not just coughing and sneezing - talking and singing can also spread Covid-19: NUS study
Related Story
Xi signals that China's zero-tolerance approach to Covid-19 will not change
Related Story
Uncontrollable Covid-19 spiral in Japan akin to a natural disaster: Experts
Related Story
Signs of a third Covid-19 wave in at least 10 Indian states
Related Story
Suspected saline switch sparks Covid-19 vaccine stir in Germany
Related Story
Thai volunteers provide lifeline to elderly, sick cut off by Covid-19 pandemic
Related Story
How Spain took the lead on vaccinations against Covid-19
Related Story
US CDC recommends Covid-19 vaccination for pregnant women
Related Story
Moderna vaccine may be superior to Pfizer vaccine against Covid-19 Delta variant: Reports
Related Story
Covid-19 fight: Is the future just a spike protein stamping on a human face, forever?
Join ST's Telegram channel here and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Topics:
More Whatsapp Linkedin FB Messenger Telegram Reddit WeChat Pinterest Print Purchase Article Copy permalink https://str.sg/3wyY