On December 28, the Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, Lee Ka-chao, held a press conference on the "Guidance and Coordination Group for Epidemic Response", announcing the further optimization of epidemic prevention measures from tomorrow, including the cancellation of quarantine orders, gathering restrictions, and "vaccine passes". Mandatory nucleic acid testing is no longer required. But the mask order remains in place.
Li Jiachao introduced that Hong Kong will cancel the quarantine order and no longer define close contacts; cancel the "vaccine passport", but will continue to promote vaccination for the "old and young" groups; cancel all mandatory nucleic acid tests for entry, including from overseas, The mainland, Macau, Taiwan and other places have changed to issue "self-made rapid nucleic acid antigen"; all social distance measures have been cancelled, including gathering restrictions, 1.5-meter dining table distance, and maximum number of people per table. These optimizations will take effect on December 29th.
Li Jiachao explained that the optimization of epidemic prevention measures is mainly due to the fact that the current vaccine vaccination rate in Hong Kong society is quite high, and more than 2.5 million people have been diagnosed earlier, and the society has established a relatively extensive overall epidemic prevention barrier. At the same time, Hong Kong also has sufficient anti-epidemic drug reserves, and medical staff have accumulated rich experience in dealing with the epidemic after three years of anti-epidemic work. The Hong Kong Hospital Authority has strengthened the emergency response system and the medical system, and the utilization of resources, response capabilities, and load capacity in all aspects have been strengthened. In addition, three years of anti-epidemic experience has given citizens a better understanding of the new coronavirus and better self-protection capabilities.
Li Jiachao emphasized that Hong Kong's epidemic prevention policy will focus on preventing severe illness and death, and protecting high-risk groups including "the elderly and the young", residential care homes for the elderly, and residential care homes for the disabled. The HKSAR government will closely monitor the development of the epidemic, including reviewing the isolation order measures issued to confirmed cases, and continue to study and optimize relevant epidemic prevention arrangements.
【Reporter】Chen Yu, Chen Chen, Xu Xiaoxin
【Trainee reporter】Wu Binbin
【Author】Chen Yu; Chen Chen; Xu Xiaoxin; Wu Binbin
Hong Kong today
