Coronavirus: Hong Kong to start offering Covid-19 vaccines to visitors from mainland China and asylum seekers already in the city
- The 40,000 holders of two-way permits, which allow mainlanders to visit Hong Kong, will be eligible to book jab slots
- With just over 12 per cent fully vaccinated out of a population of 7.5 million, government is also considering extra leave for civil servants who take their shots
With just over 12 per cent fully vaccinated so far out of a population of 7.5 million, the government is also considering extra leave for civil servants who take their shots. It will also consider delaying vaccine delivery, not taking delivery of some jabs, or donating some unused shots to countries in need rather than let them go to waste as their expiry dates loom closer.
The government also warned that supplies of vaccine were not likely to be replenished this year even if there was a sudden surge in demand later, as manufacturing, quality control and logistics took time.
“Providing cash handouts or material rewards should not be something for the government to do. In fact, in view of current circumstances, it could have the opposite effect,” Lam said.
In a continuing reflection of the improving infection situation in Hong Kong, one of the reasons cited by many refusing to be vaccinated, authorities confirmed two new coronavirus cases on Tuesday. Both were untraceable cases, involving recent arrivals from Pakistan and the Philippines, which took the city’s overall total to 11,835, with 210 related deaths.