Hong Kong’s use of electronic tracking wristbands not ‘foolproof’ solution to deter Covid-19 patients from breaching quarantine, experts say

A mainland Chinese-style three-colour system was also considered “fraught with loopholes” as patients could still access public transport and go to work, the experts added, as they called for a deeper rethink of Hong Kong’s Covid-19 policies with the rebound in infections.

The experts said strictly enforcing a seven-day home isolation for patients without proper government support could lead to unintended consequences.

“How can those elderly residents living alone buy food and daily necessities without leaving their home for seven days? What happens when the breadwinners in a family can’t go out to work and make a living? Not everyone can work from home,” said Dr Joseph Tsang Kay-yan, co-chairman of the Medical Association’s advisory committee on communicable diseases.

Since taking office on July 1, Secretary of Health Professor Lo Chung-mau has embarked on a policy blitz, including halting the city’s flight suspension mechanism and indicating a wider overhaul of its tough quarantine regime for overseas arrivals.

Over the weekend, Lo said he planned to introduce a real-name registration system for the government’s “Leave Home Safe” risk-exposure app, a component of the vaccine pass scheme required for entry into premises such as restaurants and entertainment venues.

Lo said the system would have colour codes to identify patients and high-risk individuals, with red denoting a positive Covid-19 result and yellow representing an active quarantine status for arrivals, both of which would deny users entry into “high-risk” venues.