Letters | Hong Kong calling UK ‘very high risk’ at odds with vaccine evidence

Countries such as Germany and France, which have not done nearly as well as the UK on vaccinations, are somehow considered less of a risk

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Letters

Published: 6:55am, 11 May 2021

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I welcome the news that Hong Kong’s extreme quarantine measures are starting to be relaxed for fully vaccinated travellers. As a keen supporter of vaccination, I hope this can help to boost uptake in Hong Kong.

However, I would like the Hong Kong government to explain why the United Kingdom is still considered to be “very high risk” and travellers from there still subject to 21-day quarantine.

The seven-day average of new cases for the UK has been dropping steadily for the last few months and is currently at around 2,000 per day. However, Germany and France, countries with populations of similar size to the UK, have much higher seven-day averages of 14,000 and 18,000 per day respectively, an order of magnitude worse.

Only 32 per cent of Germany’s population has managed to receive at least one Covid-19 vaccination shot, and just 26 per cent in France. Meanwhile, the UK has managed 52 per cent and averages more than 400,000 new vaccinations per day, a rate of which Hong Kong can only dream.

Given the evidence, why are Germany, France and other countries that are demonstrably much higher risk than the UK considered to be only “high risk” – and thus fully vaccinated arrivals from there will only be subject to 14 days of quarantine – yet the safer UK is still “very high risk”?

01:40

Travel bubble: Hong Kong and Singapore to launch quarantine-free entry after long delay

What is the scientific rationale used to make this decision? On the face of it, this appears to go against the available evidence and is nonsensical.

James Webster, Wan Chai

Ensure Hong Kong quarantine hotels are fit for purpose

I was one of the lucky 600 people to secure a ticket on the charter flights out of the UK in April. On April 22, I landed in Hong Kong and, after the required procedures, arrived at the only hotel available to us to serve out our 21 days of quarantine.

My expectations were not high, and the first room I was allocated did not have a working air conditioner so a move was required. On day 13 of my quarantine, I had to move rooms again after sewage from the toilet was returning via the shower drain.

This had occurred a few days earlier, but I resolved it with the plunger provided. This time it did not solve the problem, so as the polluted water rose, I contacted the Department of Health hotline and arranged another room move – the only option. Although the case officer found my predicament funny, I did not.

We are constantly hearing from experts about the risks within quarantine hotels. Clearly from my experience, this is not limited to exposure to Covid-19 but includes the dangers of an unhygienic hotel, which is ill-equipped to handle the 600 guests currently living here.

There is no apparent avenue open to me to register my concerns or complaints. Hence, I am forced to write to you in the hope that future hotels chosen for the purpose of quarantine are fit for purpose and justify the amount of money being paid by us as Hong Kong residents.

Paul Renouf, Tsing Yi