Coronavirus: record 60,000 residents receive shots, while government to offer walk-in vaccinations for over 60s to boost uptake

Appointment-free jabs for elderly are designed to offer them more flexibility but no launch date set as logistical issues must still be resolved

Health authorities confirm two more Covid-19 cases in Hong Kong, both imported; mandatory testing order issued in Ma On Shan

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Older residents would not need a booking to get vaccinated under a plan to make the process more convenient. Photo: Xiaomei Chen

Published: 2:46pm, 30 Jun 2021Updated: 11:46pm, 30 Jun 2021

About 60,000 people were vaccinated on Wednesday, setting a new daily record for Hong Kong, while authorities announced that those aged 60 or above would be allowed to turn up for their Covid-19 shots without an appointment under a proposal to boost uptake.

But it remained unclear when the walk-in service at community vaccination centres would begin as logistical details were still being ironed out, Executive Council member Dr Lam Ching-choi told the Post.

The plan was put forward shortly before Hong Kong health authorities confirmed another two imported coronavirus infections, from Britain and Bangladesh. The tally of confirmed cases now stood at 11,923, with 211 related deaths.

Officials also issued a mandatory testing order covering Horizon Suites in Ma On Shan after a 43-year-old woman and a five-year-old boy living there tested positive for Covid-19 in Britain on June 21, three days after their departure from Hong Kong. The government later said on Wednesday evening that the two cases were likely to involve a coronavirus variant, and that fully vaccinated people who had been to the building would also need to undergo compulsory testing.

Lam, who is also the chairman of the Elderly Commission, said he hoped the walk-in services plan – proposed by the College of Physicians and then adopted by the government – would encourage more seniors to get inoculated.