Hong Kong ready to classify Covid as an endemic disease, experts say, paving way to lift isolation rules for patients
- Leading government health advisers say city should follow example of mainland China and downgrade threat status of coronavirus
- Chief Executive John Lee says government will make ‘decision based on the data and the actual situation of Hong Kong’
Hong Kong is ready to declare Covid-19 an endemic disease, leading government pandemic advisers have said, allowing the city to lift most restrictions including isolation orders for infected patients.
They explained their views to the Post on Monday, a day after Macau listed the virus as endemic and relaxed most remaining control measures, and a week after all pandemic advisers to the Hong Kong government proposed removing the isolation order during a meeting with officials.
Mainland China also downgraded the status of Covid-19 on Sunday and no longer required people who tested positive to be isolated.
Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu on Tuesday said the government would be monitoring the situation closely when deciding whether to make changes to the city’s epidemic measures.
“We will make our decision based on the data and the actual situation of Hong Kong, which means we will look at the number of cases that become serious or fatal, and also monitor the overall situation of the public hospital service,” he told a regular press briefing.
“I have to also remind people here that the World Health Organization has not changed its classification of Covid-19. So we will also be watching for the possibility of variants developing.
“But so far the statistics and the data indicated that these factors are well under control.”
A day earlier, government pandemic adviser Professor Ivan Hung Fan-ngai, from the University of Hong Kong (HKU), said the city should follow the mainland’s example and list Covid-19 as endemic, given the strong immunity acquired by residents.