Coronavirus: Hong Kong lifts all restrictions on arrivals, ending ‘0+3’ regime, but keeps vaccine pass scheme
- Arrivals from Wednesday who test negative will no longer need an amber health code and can enter restaurants and other premises previously off limits to them
- New approach to be followed by even larger changes at national level before Lunar New Year holiday next month, sources say
Key points:
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From Wednesday, no more amber health code for arrivals, who can roam freely in the city if they test negative
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Residents will not be required to use the risk-exposure ‘Leave Home Safe’ app in all premises, but proof of vaccination will be required for entry to designated venues
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Compulsory PCR tests issued to residential buildings will be reduced. Only staff in hospitals and nursing homes will be required to undergo PCR tests. Workers in other occupations can opt for rapid antigen tests
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No more checkpoint PCR test required for cross-border travellers entering Macau and mainland China
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Infected people will not be given electronic wristbands
The new approach, announced by authorities on Tuesday, would be followed by even larger changes at the national level before the Lunar New Year holiday beginning on January 22 next year, several sources told the Post. Under a “0+3” model, travellers to mainland China would no longer be required to undergo five days of quarantine and instead only have to observe three days of medical surveillance, they added.
Two well-placed insiders said the mainland would allow Hong Kong businessmen and students to cross the border starting next week, separate from an existing quota of 2,000 travellers, and the city would resume high-speed rail service to Guangdong province to cope with the expected demand in the coming weeks.
In revealing the latest relaxations, which take effect on Wednesday, Hong Kong leader John Lee Ka-chiu pointed to the decreasing danger imported infections posed to the community.
“The decisions were based on data and risks,” Lee said. “The infection risk from imported cases is lower than the risk from local infections. We believe that the lifting [of the measures] will not increase the risk of local outbreaks.”
While residents will no longer be required to use the “Leave Home Safe” risk-exposure app in all premises, adult residents entering restaurants, bars and 12 other types of venues must still show proof of having received three shots of a coronavirus vaccine – either electronically or on paper.
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Currently, travellers arriving in Hong Kong are issued an amber code on their health app even if they test negative and banned from entering restaurants, gyms and beauty parlours during their first three days. But from Wednesday, incoming travellers who test negative will be given a blue code on their temporary vaccine pass, allowing them to move freely around the city.
Those who test positive will continue to receive a red health code and be required to follow existing isolation protocols. Arrivals will also still need to take a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test at the airport and on their third day in the city, and a rapid antigen test (RAT) for five days.
PCR tests will only be required for high-risk groups, including hospital staff and workers at care homes, while employees in other occupations can choose to do RAT tests voluntarily. Compulsory PCR testing notices issued to residential buildings will also be reduced, and children under the age of three would be exempted from all mandatory screenings.
Health minister Lo Chung-mau said data gathered in the past month showed only 3.8 per cent of incoming travellers were found to have the virus upon arrival. Among them, only 1.6 per cent were found to be infected later – lower than the 2.5 per cent spotted from testing in the community.
Waste water surveillance also showed the current Covid-19 wave might have plateaued, he said, adding that despite the large number of infections, the healthcare system was still functioning well, an improvement from previous waves and earlier in the year.
Health authorities reported 13,721 cases on Tuesday, of which 791 cases were imported, and 37 deaths related to the virus. The city’s Covid-19 tally stands at 2,275,447 cases and 11,021 related fatalities.
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But the health minister refused to say whether the government would eventually scrap the vaccine pass, arguing new Covid-19 mutations could emerge and more effective vaccines developed in response that residents would be advised to take.
“We still require patrons to show their vaccination records as this will encourage residents to take jabs, especially among our elderly and children,” he said. “We can also protect those who are unvaccinated from entering high-risk premises.”
Electronic wristbands would no longer be distributed to infected people, given the red code effectively prevented the spread of the virus in the community, he added, although he rejected a suggestion of making mask-wearing optional in public, saying they remained a useful tool in preventing transmission.
Regarding easier travel to the mainland, multiple sources said that starting from next week, students at Hong Kong schools and universities could travel across the border with only proof of a daily negative RAT test, while executives and travellers attending to family matters would be the first group to enjoy the “0+3” arrangement.
Residents heading to Guangdong will only need to file their PCR test results online before departure, and the same rule would apply to all air, train and sea checkpoints from early next month, according to two sources.
Under the relaxations announced by Hong Kong, travellers heading to the mainland and Macau will no longer need to undergo pre-departure tests at checkpoints and only be required to complete a PCR test 48 hours before leaving. Overseas visitors who fulfil these requirements can enter the mainland and Macau directly via Hong Kong ports.
Commerce sector lawmaker and Executive Council member Jeffrey Lam Kin-fung called the city’s move towards fewer Covid-19 restrictions “very encouraging”.
“[We are] looking forward to the Chinese New Year. We should expect people going out and also coming in if the procedures continue to simplify, and that would be tremendous for Hong Kong,” he added.
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Lam called on airlines to increase their flight capacity to cope with the expected increase in demand. The government could also further consider reducing the frequency of PCR tests for arrivals and dropping the mask mandate.
Simon Wong Kit-lung, chairman of catering enterprise LH Group, also welcomed the relaxations and predicted stronger consumer sentiment during the holiday season, although he conceded most overseas travellers had probably already planned their vacation elsewhere.
Separately, the Sun Hung Kai Properties Cyclothon makes a comeback to the city this Sunday after a four-year hiatus. Organiser Hong Kong Tourism Board on Tuesday maintained that all participants to the cycling event will have to possess a blue code, together with negative PCR test and RAT results, for admission to the event.
Additional reporting by Tony Cheung and Harvey Kong
