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Although Hong Kong's COVID problems are far from over, daily case counts have dropped 50% from their peaks of 3 weeks ago (see HK Sets Another Record (56,827), despite the city being unable to implement their ambitious city-wide testing program announced in late February (see Hong Kong Orders City-Wide Compulsory Testing In March - School Closures).
Hong Kong's Zero-COVID policy - which worked remarkably well when there were only a handful of cases to isolate, quarantine, or contact trace each day - crumbled in the face of an avalanche of cases.
Facing increasing public resistance, mounting economic losses, and no realistic way to implement their Zero-COVID policies, today Hong Kong's Chief Executive Carrie Lam announced several significant course changes.
- 1st, Hong Kong would lift the flight ban from 9 countries (Australia, Canada, France, India, Nepal, Pakistan, the Philippines, Britain and the U.S.) on April 1st, and the quarantine time for arriving (fully vaccinated) travelers would be reduced if they test negative on the 6th and 7th day.
- 2nd, the controversial plan for a city-wide lockdown (see HK Govt. Denies Plans For A `Complete Lockdown') for mandatory testing has been suspended on the advice of local experts.
- 3rd, if COVID doesn't surge again, social distancing restrictions could be relaxed in phases starting on April 21st.
Lifting the no-fly order from nine countries, adjusting quarantine arrangements
March 21, 2022
Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor announced that the current regional flight circuit breaker mechanism for nine countries will be cancelled on April 1. Starting from the same day, overseas arrivals who have obtained negative test results within the fifth to seventh consecutive days of the quarantine period can leave the quarantine hotel earlier, that is, the quarantine period will be shortened to seven days.
Carrie Lam said at the anti-epidemic press conference today that if the implementation of the flight circuit breaker mechanism for nine countries continues, a large number of Hong Kong residents stranded there will be greatly troubled. After considering the local epidemic situation, the government believes that the relevant restrictions are out of date and will be lifted from April 1.
The authorities also straightened out the quarantine arrangements for those arriving in Hong Kong. Instead of classifying overseas countries or regions into designated areas in Groups A, B or C, the quarantine requirements were uniformly applied to all overseas arrivals. Only two doses of vaccinations were allowed in the first phase. Hong Kong residents who have approved the new crown vaccine are allowed to board the plane to Hong Kong.
These Hong Kong residents must hold a certificate of negative nucleic acid test results conducted within 48 hours before the scheduled flight, and have booked a minimum seven-night stay in a quarantine hotel before boarding. They must be tested at the airport after arriving in Hong Kong. Those with negative results will be issued a 14-day quarantine order, and then take a special car to the designated quarantine hotel for isolation.
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Carrie Lam emphasized that the cancellation of the no-fly order is not a relaxation, and the government will still adhere to the measures to prevent importation from abroad and non-proliferation at home. She also said that relevant government departments will discuss with the airport authority and airlines on the return of flights and corresponding arrangements, and will look for more hotels to be converted into designated quarantine hotels to facilitate bookings by those arriving in Hong Kong.
March 21, 2022
Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor said that both local and mainland experts believe that compulsory universal testing should be carried out in the early or late stage of the outbreak. In addition to the large amount of manpower and material resources involved, it is also quite challenging to achieve universal coverage. Therefore, the government has decided to suspend the implementation of the relevant plan.
Carrie Lam said at the anti-epidemic press conference today that the government originally planned to implement compulsory nationwide inspections within this month, and has refined the plan to assess the manpower and material resources needed. The authorities estimate that 500 testing stations will be set up, operating 14 hours a day, and on a three-day cycle, 2.4 million people will be tested every day, involving as many as 80,000 people.
She said that the scale of compulsory nationwide inspections is unprecedented, and measures must be taken to limit the movement of people, so the implementation time is critical, and both Hong Kong and mainland experts believe that it should be carried out at the early or late stage of the outbreak. Even though the epidemic situation in Hong Kong has eased slightly, the number of cases is still at a high level. At this stage, it is not appropriate to invest limited resources in national nucleic acid testing.
Depending on the epidemic, social measures will be relaxed in late April
March 21, 2022
Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor said that the epidemic situation in Hong Kong is still severe, and most social distancing measures must be maintained until April 20 as originally planned. If the epidemic does not rebound and the downward trend of infection cases continues, the government will lift most of the measures in three phases starting from April 21.
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After research and judgment, the government believes that the epidemic is still severe, the number of cases is still at a high level, and the anti-epidemic work must be persistent. Therefore, most social distancing measures must continue as planned until April 20, and will not be relaxed earlier. However, if the epidemic does not rebound and the number of cases continues to show a downward trend, the authorities will lift most of the social distancing measures in three phases starting from April 21 for three months.
- The first phase will reopen sports venues, museums, performance venues and libraries under the Leisure and Cultural Services Department, as well as scheduled premises regulated by Chapter 599F of the Laws of Hong Kong. The maximum number of people for group gatherings in public places will be relaxed to four people; catering establishments can resume dine-in dinners until 10 p.m., with a maximum of four people per table, but bars and pubs must remain closed.
- In the second stage, the remaining listed premises, bars and pubs, beaches and swimming pools managed by the LCSD can reopen. The dine-in hours of catering premises have been extended to 12 midnight, and the maximum number of people per table has been increased to eight. Citizens do not need to wear masks when they are in country parks, running outdoors and exercising vigorously.
- As for the third stage, the restrictions on premises and the number of customers will be relaxed as much as possible, basically returning to the implementation of basic epidemic prevention requirements such as wearing masks, limiting the number of people in gatherings, and using "safe travel" and "vaccine passports".
While it was increasingly obvious that Hong Kong was fighting a losing battle against a far-more-transmissible Omicron variant, Mainland China continues to fight covid using their Zero-COVID playbook.
Right now the heaviest COVID outbreak is in Jilin province, where tens of millions are under lockdown. The success or failure of China's containment efforts there may determine whether China can continue to embrace their Zero-COVID policies going forward.
Stay tuned.
