- Approach is tied to China given border importance: David Hui
- Just 58% of local residents have one dose, lagging rival hubs
“Covid Zero is not a long-term policy, we can try to boost the vaccination as much as we can during this policy,” said David Hui, a professor at the Chinese University of Hong Kong who leads an expert panel that advises the government.
“When we have about 80% or even 90% of vaccination rate, we may consider living with the virus instead of maintaining the zero target,” he said in an interview with Bloomberg News on Thursday. Even then, Hong Kong will still be led by China’s strategy, he said.
The city is still far from that vaccination milestone, with just 58% of residents having been vaccinated with an initial dose, according to Bloomberg’s Vaccine Tracker. That lags rival financial hubs, with Singapore at 82%.
China, meanwhile, has fully vaccinated 70% of its population but has doubled down on its zero-tolerance approach and has no plans to open up further to the outside world. With Hong Kong’s priority being easing curbs at the border with the mainland, the city will continue to be led by what China does, even if its vaccination performance improves, noted Hui.
A traveler leaves the arrival hall of the Hong Kong Port Passenger Clearance Building of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge, on Sept. 15.
Photographer: Chan Long Hei/Bloomberg
China Has Fully Vaccinated More Than 1 Billion People
“Hong Kong is in a dilemma now: international chambers have been putting pressure on the government due to the quarantine policy while China is still aiming for zero infections,” he said. “If Hong Kong doesn’t follow China’s policy, it is impossible to reopen the border with them.”
Hong Kong’s travel curbs are coming under growing criticism as other places that previously kept infections low through similar rules, like Singapore and Australia, pivot toward treating the virus as endemic. The city’s quarantine measures, which mandate isolation periods for as long as 21 days, remain some of the strictest in the world and are fueling concerns that the financial hub could be left behind as others reopen.
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/arti...-open-up-before-vaccine-rate-hits-at-least-80
