Hong Kong to issue vaccine pass as cases surge

Hong Kong will expand its vaccine bubble to include shopping malls and supermarkets, authorities said on Monday.

But there will be exemptions and random inspections in some places, as authorities battle a record surge in COVID-19 cases.

The outbreak has overwhelmed healthcare facilities in the global financial hub, with a record daily high of 7,533 infections and 13 deaths, among them an 11-month-old child, building pressure on the government.

As most major cities learn to live with the virus, Hong Kong has imposed its toughest curbs yet.

President Xi Jinping says that reining in the disease is the city's "overriding mission."

The government will launch a controversial "vaccine passport" on Thursday.

That allows only inoculated people to enter places such as supermarkets and clubhouses, a move some critics say raises privacy concerns.

The plan requires anyone aged 12 and above to have taken at least one dose of a vaccine to enter specified premises, except for those with medical exemptions.

Inspections will be random at some sites, in view of strained resources.

"Bringing your vaccine pass is the natural thing to do," said Kevin Choi, deputy secretary for food and health.

Operational difficulties in some places, such as shopping malls, supermarkets, and department stores, made it hard to ensure active checks, he added.

The final stage of the scheme, by the end of June, will see those older than 18 required to have had three vaccine doses, authorities said.

Public hospitals in Hong Kong have been severely stretched, with occupancy at more than 95 percent, as they struggle to cope with the flow of patients, including the elderly, many of whom have resisted vaccinations.

Hong Kong has launched an "all-out combat" on the outbreak, the city's No. 2 official, John Lee, said on Sunday.

As the urgency grows, private hospitals will soon begin taking in patients from public hospitals.

And construction has begun on Lantau Island for about 10,000 community and isolation units, authorities said in a statement.

Authorities are also closely watching outbreaks in care homes, with infections reported by about 250 centers involving about 700 residents.

The fifth wave of the disease is "ferocious" and the government must allocate sufficient funds to help citizens and business, Financial Secretary Paul Chan, who will unveil the annual budget on Wednesday, said in a blog post on the weekend.

Unless the budget provides unprecedented relief measures, economists say, it will be hard to see how the economy can avoid contracting again after emerging just last year from its most prolonged recession, which lasted from 2019 to 2020.

Meanwhile, Two medical expert delegations from the Chinese mainland continued their inspections of Hong Kong's anti-COVID-19 work and patients treatment on Sunday.

The team of the mainland epidemiological experts met and exchanged views with representatives from the Office of the Government Chief Information Officer, the Home Affairs Department, and the Department of Health of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government.

Secretary for Food and Health of the HKSAR government Sophia Chan said that the HKSAR will carefully study and implement the recommendations offered by mainland experts, and manage the various aspects of anti-epidemic work.

"The HKSAR government spares no effort in implementing anti-epidemic strategies that are effective, targeted and most suited to the situation in Hong Kong in order to cut the virus transmission chains as quickly as possible, and to put the fifth wave of the epidemic under control," she said.

During the meeting, the OGCIO outlined the technical support provided for the compulsory home quarantine arrangements in Hong Kong.

And the HAD briefed the mainland experts on the scope of services and mode of operation of the 24-hour hotline to support the "StayHomeSafe" scheme.