Chief Executive Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor hopes that customs clearance with the mainland will be possible in February next year. Recently, a number of policies have been introduced to tighten prevention and control measures, such as changing the discharge arrangements for recovered patients and compulsory use of safe travel.
Xu Shuchang, a government expert consultant and chair professor of the Department of Respiratory System at CUHK, pointed out that a number of measures introduced by the government recently have responded to questions raised by the mainland.
However, he said that the current epidemic situation in Hong Kong is stable. After customs clearance with the mainland or even overseas, there may be another outbreak in Hong Kong. He believes that the vaccination rate should be increased to minimize the risk of infection.
Hong Kong also found the first confirmed case of the Delta+ (AY.4.2) variant virus yesterday (5th). Liu Zexing, the convener of the New Coronary Vaccine Advisory Committee, said that there is not much knowledge about the new variant virus, which may be more infectious than Delta, and he is also worried. Symptoms become more serious after infection.
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Xu Shuchang said that he participated in a meeting of mainland experts on customs clearance at the end of September. He said that the government has improved a lot in recent days, including tightening exemptions from group quarantine, revising discharge guidelines, etc., and has achieved continuous clearing. I believe there are conditions for customs clearance.
He pointed out that as long as Hong Kong people can prove three things, that is, they have a vaccination record, a negative nucleic acid test result, and have not been to a place with a high risk of infection, they should be able to pass the border, but they must use the mainland health code to go to the mainland.
As for whether customs clearance will be possible in February next year, Xu Shuchang quoted Huang Liuquan, deputy director of the Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office, saying that it will take 4 to 5 months from the first discussion of customs clearance to implementation in Macau.
Xu said that the Health Commission is expected to visit Hong Kong to inspect whether the epidemic prevention measures in Hong Kong are satisfactory.
Asked whether the government intends to extend the mandatory use of peace of mind to all restaurants, Xu Shuchang did not respond positively. He only pointed out that travel with peace of mind is an internal rebound measure. Facing the pandemic, it is a "good public health measure."
▼Locations involving patients with the ``Delta+'' variant virus▼
The Department of Health announced yesterday that a 62-year-old male patient was infected with the Delta+ variant virus, which was the first case in Hong Kong.
Liu Zexing pointed out that he doesn’t know much about Delta+. It may be more infectious than Delta’s L452R variant. He is also worried that the symptoms may be more serious. However, more data analysis is needed. He emphasized that the virus will not mutate until it enters the human body. "Doesn't it come to Zhangtai, or it will mutate after a cup", so vaccination is very important.
When asked about the risk assessment of a new wave of outbreaks in Hong Kong, Xu Shuchang pointed out that Hong Kong has not opened for the time being and the risk is not high. "The risk of customs clearance in the future will be the first." Therefore, it is necessary to increase the vaccination rate.
He said that the vaccination rate of the elderly in Hong Kong is low, not as good as that in Europe and Singapore, and they are not allowed to coexist with the virus. The vaccination rate for people over 80 years old is only over 10%. However, the death rate after diagnosis of this group of elders is 20%, which is unbearable by the Hong Kong medical system.
▼The market situation of Chunyang Street, North Point on November 3▼
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