September 7, 2022
HONG KONG – Discussions of a proposed “reverse quarantine” arrangements for those traveling from Hong Kong to the Chinese mainland have already begun, and the special administrative region government has listed specific topics that need to be addressed.
Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu said the topics of the talks include the criteria of virus tests, the implementation of a “closed-loop” arrangement for those under reverse quarantine, how to transport travelers across the border under such an arrangement, and related manpower allocations
But mainland authorities need to deal with the latest wave of the pandemic, and therefore, discussions with Hong Kong authorities may take awhile.
Speaking to the media on Tuesday before the weekly Executive Council meeting, Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu said the topics of the talks include the criteria of virus tests, the implementation of a “closed-loop” arrangement for those under reverse quarantine, how to transport travelers across the border under such an arrangement, and related manpower allocations.
Lee said Hong Kong’s pandemic situation is also quite severe. The city’s daily-infection rate has recently hovered around 10,000 a day, posing a life-threatening risk to high-risk groups, especially the elderly, young children and the chronically ill.
Lee vowed to fight the new pandemic outbreak with greater effort and more precise methods, and called on residents who don’t have vaccinations to get them.
Workers wearing protective gear direct arriving passengers to quarantine hotels in the Hong Kong International Airport, April 1, 2022. (KIN CHEUNG / AP)
Lee said the current quarantine arrangements are based on controlling the number of confirmed cases, reducing the number of severe cases and deaths, using precise methods to identify different risk groups, and balancing the necessity of pandemic control and economic activities
He said that about 95 percent of COVID-19-related deaths were among people aged 60 or older, but about 20 percent of those 80 or older haven’t been vaccinated. Last month, about 20 children developed severe symptoms after contracting the virus. The inoculation rate among young children is also “unsatisfactory”, he said.
He emphasized that people with three doses of the vaccine have 50 times more protection against COVID-19 than those who do not have a single shot.
Lee also said that the current quarantine arrangements are based on controlling the number of confirmed cases, reducing the number of severe cases and deaths, using precise methods to identify different risk groups, and balancing the necessity of pandemic control and economic activities.
Regarding the anti-pandemic work, the government is united, and the various departments involved in the effort have maintained close communications and reached a consensus on how to deal with the outbreak, Lee said.