Despite more than 90% vaccination rate in the city of 7.6 million, strict restrictions are still in place in this (soon to be ex-) financial hub of Asia.
A quick search on Google shows that more than one-fifth of the Hong Kong population has been infected by COVID since the start of the pandemic.
19 million doses have been administrated and 6.6 million people in Hong Kong are fully vaccinated (~90% of the population).
The statistics are similar to that of our main rival in Asia, Singapore.
Singapore removed its COVID restrictions back in April, but Hong Kong has only relaxed its highly restrictive quarantine rules for arriving travellers slightly, with existing social distancing remaining unchanged.
Travellers to Singapore are no longer required for compulsory quarantines, pre-departure tests or the facemask requirement for outdoors.
Hong Kong, on the other hand, still requires travellers arriving from overseas to have negative results proof of a PCR-based nucleic acid test, documentary proof for completion of vaccination and quarantine in designated quarantine hotels for 3 nights and medical surveillance for another 4 nights (i.e. no dine-in, no gym room, no places of amusements among other venues) at their own expenses, and then another PCR test immediately upon arrival at the airport.
Like a shark smelling blood, Singapore decided to move forwards its Fintech Festival to 2–4 November, competing directly with Hong Kong’s Fintech Week 2022, to be held on the same week.
Yet Hong Kong’s Chief Executive dismissed the threat posed by the rival.
And despite the fact that the majority of Hong Kong residents have already had at least 2 doses of vaccines and/or been infected by COVID, we still need to wear masks at all public places (including outdoors), use the “LeaveHomeSafe” app wherever we go, look out for compulsory testing notices every day, in case we were caught unaware and got issued a fixed fine of HK$10,000.
Aside from asking residents to take more booster vaccines, the government seems to have no other way to lead Hong Kong out of the mess we are in. There has been no indication of when or how we are going to return to our normal, mask-free, tracking-free, pre-2020 way of life.
No targets have been set or communicated to the residents (e.g. the number of new COVID cases, cases that required intensive care, death case, or the number of people vaccinated) before social distancing requirements or travel restrictions would be lifted.
Of course, if you are the holder of “return2hk”, then you can apparently flaunt whatever rules imposed and bragged about it.
And they wonder why Hong Kong people are so frustrated with the government right now.