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As I see it | Covid-19 health code system should be short-lived measure
- The need to introduce the system to Hong Kong is dubious, but at least it will be less disruptive to daily life than in mainland China
- The system is a powerful tool for restricting people’s movement, but vaccines have proved more effective at reducing hospitalisation and death
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The Hong Kong government has argued that the newly introduced health code system is a necessary defence as the city reduces the number of quarantine days for incoming international travellers.
Travellers will receive an amber code for seven days and be required to stay in hotels for the first three days after arrival. During the next four days of medical surveillance, they are free to go to work or shop at markets, but the amber code would ban them from high-risk places such as restaurants and party rooms.
However, justifications for the amber code are weak because any unidentified Covid-19 cases can still spread easily via families, the workplace and markets.
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A red code, which is more restrictive, might help reduce the risk of spread, but its effectiveness is still limited because most people with mild cases don’t report to authorities, and the actual number of infections is much higher.
The need to introduce the health code system to Hong Kong is dubious, but at least it will be less disruptive to daily life than in mainland China, where it has become a powerful tool to restrict people’s mobility.
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