Coronavirus: 7 new imported cases confirmed; Hong Kong teens next in line for walk-in vaccinations

Announcement comes as new imported infections include five from Pakistan, with Emirates the latest airline to be banned on its Dubai-Bangkok-Hong Kong route

Chief executive also confirms plans to recognise jab records from Indonesia and the Philippines, says 400-room hotel already designated for quarantine

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Hong Kong teens will soon be able to get vaccinated without booking an appointment in advance, city leader Carrie Lam revealed on Tuesday. Photo: May Tse

Published: 12:16pm, 24 Aug 2021Updated: 10:30pm, 24 Aug 2021

Hong Kong children aged 12 and above will soon be able to get their coronavirus jabs without a prior booking as the city turns its attention to boosting vaccination rates for young residents, even as lagging numbers among the elderly remain a top priority.

Officials on Tuesday also declared that the strategy of living with Covid-19 would not be practical for the city at this stage, given the low vaccination take-up.

The city recorded seven new Covid-19 cases, all imported, involving five people from Pakistan, and arrivals from Lithuania and Turkey, pushing the infection tally to 12,069, with 212 related deaths. Fewer than five people tested preliminary positive to the virus on Tuesday.

Five of the passengers from Tuesday’s fresh cases arrived on Emirates flight EK384 over the weekend, triggering a two-week ban till September 6 for the airline route from Dubai to Hong Kong via Bangkok. The United Arab Emirates and Thailand are listed by Hong Kong as high-risk for Covid-19.

Announcing the latest vaccination move on Tuesday morning, Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor noted that while 58.7 per cent of Hong Kong’s eligible population had already had their first dose, the daily vaccination and booking figures were trending down.