 |
| CE Lee and State Council's Huang agree on the need to lift anti-Covid travel curbs soon |
Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee, speaking to media before
he addressed today’s Executive Council meeting, stopped short of saying when
this will happen, but he is scheduled to deliver his Policy Address next month.
“We will be actively monitoring the situation so that we
will do this as quickly as possible,” Mr. Lee said. “I'm conscious of the fact
that while we need to control the spread of the COVID, we also need to ensure
that there will be maximum activities in society and economic activities for
society to carry on.”
 |
| PINDUTIN PARA SA DETALYE |
“… we are doing everything in that direction, and we will be
announcing the measures once we've made decision about what we're going to do,”
he added.
Mr. Lee cited the need to “do it in an orderly way.”
“We will reduce the inconvenience as much as we can because
every step will involve deployment of resources to ensure we put the right
amount of people and the right amount of support so as to ensure that things
don't get disordered,” he added.
 |
| PINDUTIN PARA SA DETALYE |
Lee’s statement drew support from Huang Liuquan, deputy
director of the State Council’s Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office, who said adjustments
to pandemic measures are the right move.
Hong Kong authorities do not have to choose between opening
up to the world and to the rest of the country, Huang told a media conference in
Beijing.
This is the first major signal of Beijing’s blessings for
the city to ease travel restrictions, according to the South China Morning Post.
 |
| Press for details |
The Hong Kong government has been under pressure to lift the
curbs, which have been blamed for the emigration of more than 100,000 residents,
cancellation of international events such as the HK Marathon and the transfer to Bangkok of a dragon boat championship, and a $100 billion budget deficit due to a sluggish economy this
year.
The latest to prod such action was a group of University of
Hong Kong experts led by microbiologist Yuen Kwok-yung, a top government
advisor, who said Covid-19 has become endemic and poses less danger because Hong
Kong has built a strong shield against severe cases through vaccination and
natural infections.
In an article published today and reported by government broadcaster
RTHK, the group said the Covid fatality rate from December 31 last year to
September 14 stood at 0.59 percent.
 |
| BASAHIN ANG DETALYE |
But during the during the last four months, when social distancing
measures were eased gradually, the fatality rate was even lower at 0.097 percent.
This, they said, indicated a need to relax anti-Covid measures
such as sewage testing and lockdowns, so that life can return to normal.
Instead, a comprehensive monitoring system should be adopted
to detect new variants of the coronavirus as soon as possible and infection
control measures tightened.
The one thing that needs to continue is the wearing of face masks, they added.
"Face masks are very effective in reducing the risks of respiratory viral and bacterial infections," they said.
 |
| PADALA NA! |
 |
