Coronavirus: Hong Kong restaurants likely to get exemptions for children, elderly when ‘Leave Home Safe’ app becomes mandatory
- Asked if there will be exemptions for children and the elderly, health chief Sophia Chan says authorities will make ‘considerations in relevant directions’
- Hong Kong confirms four new imported Covid-19 cases – two from Britain, and one each from the United States and Indonesia
Secretary for Food and Health Sophia Chan Siu-chee on Saturday said the government understood that some members of the public would need help to use the “Leave Home Safe” risk-exposure app when entering venues.
Asked by reporters whether children and elderly residents who did not own a smartphone would be exempted from the mandate, Chan replied: “Authorities will make considerations in relevant directions.”
“Extending the use of the ‘Leave Home Safe’ app is for the benefit of members of the public,” Chan said. “We hope people can record where they have been so if an outbreak happens, we can inform those who had been in the same areas immediately and notify them to get tested.”
Earlier in the day, Hong Kong Federation of Restaurants and Related Trades president Simon Wong Ka-wo, who has been in talks with the government over the mandatory use of the app at eateries and entertainment venues, said authorities were “open to granting a few exemptions”.
“There are not that many people without smartphones, so it’s feasible to grant a few exemptions for them,” Wong told a radio show.
