Hong Kong will press ahead with a policy requiring residents to receive the third dose of a Covid-19 vaccine to enter most premises by the end of the month, the city’s leader has confirmed, although a million people have yet to receive such a shot. Two weeks ahead of the prospective deadline, lawmakers from major political parties called on authorities to provide regular updates on how many people were ineligible for the new vaccine pass requirement and also boost the amount of manpower for processing applications to provide records of recovery from Covid-19. Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor on Tuesday said the third phase of the vaccine pass scheme would be implemented on May 31 as planned, even as the administration faces mounting pressure to review its effectiveness. The confirmation came as health officials reported 328 new Covid-19 infections, up sharply from Monday’s 234 cases and the most since 363 infections were logged on April 30. No deaths linked to the virus were reported. The city’s coronavirus tally stood at 1,209,068 cases, with 9,361 related fatalities. “In the past 14 days, there had been a fluctuation in the number of daily infections, but there wasn’t a decreasing or increasing trend,” said Dr Albert Au Ka-wing, principal medical and health officer at the Centre for Health Protection. “This might be related to the gradual relaxation of social-distancing measures.” The city is set to enter its next phase of relaxed curbs on Thursday, with dine-in services for eateries to be extended until midnight, while bars and pubs will be allowed to reopen. How Hong Kong vaccine pass scheme works if you’ve just arrived in city With authorities set to implement the third phase of the vaccine pass scheme as scheduled, the Food and Health Bureau told the Post that about 5.2 million people, or 77 per cent of residents aged 12 or above, were already eligible to enter premises that require a vaccine pass under the upcoming arrangement. “The 5.2 million eligible people includes all who have received three or four doses, those who have received their second dose within six months, and recovered patients who were infected during the fifth wave of the epidemic,” the bureau said. Under the third stage of the scheme, about 1 million people, consisting of residents who had received one or two jabs and no record of infection, would become ineligible to enter most premises if they failed to receive an additional dose. The city’s leader said vaccination remained the most effective way to prevent serious cases of infection by the coronavirus, with authorities aiming to prevent the public healthcare system from becoming overburdened. “So with that objective in mind, we will continue to implement what we have announced for a very long time. I can confirm and reaffirm that that remains our plan,” Lam said, referring to the third stage of the vaccine pass scheme. Under the third phase of the scheme, residents aged 12 and above would need to receive their third jab if six months had passed since they had received their second dose. Exemptions to the arrangement will include anyone who has already taken their second or third jab before contracting Covid-19 or people who were infected less than six months ago. They would also include those who had received their second dose within the past six months. But lawmaker Bill Tang Ka-piu, of the Federation of Trade Unions, urged the government to release clearer vaccination data on a regular basis. “There should be a regular release of accurate figures – how many people are eligible for the third shot but have not yet done so,” he said. “There should also be a constant assessment of whether May 31 would be feasible [date] for the third phase of the scheme.” Tang also said he was concerned that if too many people were unable to enter businesses and restaurants under the new rules, it could lead to economic and social disruptions. Liberal Party lawmaker Peter Shiu Ka-fai said he believed people who were previously infected but had not yet reported it to the government could be among the about 1 million people who could become ineligible. He said the government should increase the number of personnel processing applications to receive proof of recovery from Covid-19, which would allow affected residents to enter specific premises without receiving three vaccine jabs. University of Hong Kong’s epidemiologist Professor Benjamin Cowling, who co-authored an opinion piece on Monday that urged authorities to exempt non-elderly adults from the vaccine pass, told the Post the city was no longer in the “emergency” stage of the pandemic. The change meant the key principle of informed consent needed to govern personal medical decisions even if the benefits of previous measures outweighed the harms, he said. “Recommendations, incentives and encouragements should be considered sufficient,” he said. The epidemiologist’s proposal included those employed as health workers who face higher risks of infection but are unlikely to develop severe illnesses due to their jobs. While experts have in recent days expressed contrasting views on the epidemic’s development and measures in the city, Lam noted that it could be due to Hong Kong having reached a “deadlock”, with new infections hovering at a low level of 200 to 300 each day. “There are diverse views especially since the number of infections is static,” she said. “I, personally, am very thankful for the valuable views from experts, but … they are not directly involved in the formulation of government policies.” She added: “We are not led by experts’ opinions. We will balance a basket of factors, including economic needs when we come up with an appropriate approach to the solution.” Lam noted infection clusters had recently surfaced in the city, especially in crowded places where people took off their masks. She said the virus’ reproduction rate, which was currently close to one, could exceed that figure in the coming few days, meaning each Covid-19 patient could infect more than one person on average. A number greater than one indicates an epidemic may worsen. Separately, health authorities on Tuesday continued to record new coronavirus cases linked to several previously reported clusters. The clusters included an eatery located in a Kwun Tong industrial building, which reported nine additional cases. The increase brought the overall total to 20 infections, including 19 diners and one restaurant employee. Another cluster, located at the Sky Cuisine restaurant in Sheung Wan reached a total of 64 cases after eight additional infections were reported. Au said new information had come to light after several patients told contact-tracing staff the eatery in Kwun Tong had hosted a food-tasting event and a party, contradicting previous accounts of a “business meeting” where no food was served. He added the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department would investigate if any rules were broken, such as how several patrons had allegedly not used the “Leave Home Safe” risk-exposure app before entering the premises. Health officials also identified a small group of infections at popular food chain TamJai Yunnan Mixian. The three patients involved had dined there on May 11 between 11.30am and 1.30pm. About 200 patrons have been issued compulsory testing notices. Two overseas arrivals who were previously listed as imported cases and had visited a billiard club in Hung Hom, where an infection cluster was reported, were updated as local infections, Au said, noting whole-genome sequencing revealed the pair were carrying a locally circulated variant. Meanwhile, a flight ban was imposed on Qatar Airways from May 17 to 21 after three passengers had tested positive upon arrival, while another failed to comply with health regulations. Hong Kong fund for jab-related deaths, injuries ‘must speed up claims process’ The government on Tuesday evening also announced another six newly designated quarantine hotels, which will provide an additional 2,000 rooms. The venues will be available for bookings from this week onwards, with services to commence in late May. The six venues are Empire Hotel Kowloon in Tsim Sha Tsui, Hotel Alexandra in North Point, Hotel COZi‧Harbour View in Kwun Tong, Hotel COZi‧Oasis in Kwai Chung, Novotel Century Hong Kong in Wan Chai and Royal View Hotel in Ting Kau. Another 11 hotels, which were initially used as community isolation facilities, have applied to formally join the official list of designated quarantine hotels. These premises will have their services extended until the end of July. There are currently 62 quarantine hotels in Hong Kong, which provide a total of about 22,000 rooms. Additional reporting by Nadia Lam and Olga Wong