Hong Kong set to axe Covid isolation requirement by January’s end, with asymptomatic patients allowed back to office
- Positive rapid antigen test results will no longer need to be submitted online, with government’s case figures to focus on PCR screening and virus-related deaths
- But health minister Lo Chung-mau warns public against treating coronavirus like flu, says Covid-19 requires different vaccines and treatment
Hong Kong will scrap its five-day isolation requirement for all who test positive for Covid-19 from January 30, following mainland China’s example of treating it as a regular upper respiratory tract disease, and asymptomatic patients will be allowed to return to work.
Those who contract the virus will no longer have to inform authorities online, while the government will only report positive polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests and related deaths from January 30, but the city’s “emergency response level” will remain in force to legitimise its mask mandate as well as any urgent use of vaccines against potential variants.
“A new mode of managing the disease doesn’t mean we give up anti-epidemic efforts,” Secretary for Health Lo Chung-mau said on Thursday.
“Coronavirus is more infectious, requires different vaccines and treatment, than influenza. We should not weaken people’s vigilance by equating it with flu.”
Daily rapid test requirements for students will remain, but unlike workers, asymptomatic school-goers are advised to stay home until they test negative.
Authorities pledged to reallocate resources to vulnerable groups and continue to monitor the possible emergence of variants and large-scale community outbreaks.