Hong Kong to scrap COVID tests for arrivals, vaccine pass

Hong Kong leader John Lee is due to hold a media briefing at 3.30pm (0730 GMT) to give further details.

Reuters

December 28, 2022 / 12:35 IST

(Image: AP)

International travellers to Hong Kong will no longer need to do a mandatory PCR COVID-19 test on arrival, local broadcaster TVB said on Wednesday citing sources, adding that the city's vaccine pass required to enter most venues would also be scrapped.

Hong Kong leader John Lee is due to hold a media briefing at 3.30pm (0730 GMT) to give further details.

The expected announcement comes after Lee said on Saturday that Hong Kong would reopen its borders with mainland China by mid-January. The earliest date would be January 10 with priority for travel to the city given to those with business and family needs, the South China Morning Post said, citing unidentified sources.

Hong Kong has for nearly three years largely followed China's lead in tackling the novel coronavirus.

In an abrupt change of policy, China this month began dismantling the world's strictest COVID regime of lockdowns and extensive testing. The country will stop requiring inbound travellers to go into quarantine from Jan. 8, authorities said this week.

COVID-19 Vaccine

Frequently Asked Questions

How does a vaccine work?

A vaccine works by mimicking a natural infection. A vaccine not only induces immune response to protect people from any future COVID-19 infection, but also helps quickly build herd immunity to put an end to the pandemic. Herd immunity occurs when a sufficient percentage of a population becomes immune to a disease, making the spread of disease from person to person unlikely. The good news is that SARS-CoV-2 virus has been fairly stable, which increases the viability of a vaccine.

How many types of vaccines are there?

There are broadly four types of vaccine — one, a vaccine based on the whole virus (this could be either inactivated, or an attenuated [weakened] virus vaccine); two, a non-replicating viral vector vaccine that uses a benign virus as vector that carries the antigen of SARS-CoV; three, nucleic-acid vaccines that have genetic material like DNA and RNA of antigens like spike protein given to a person, helping human cells decode genetic material and produce the vaccine; and four, protein subunit vaccine wherein the recombinant proteins of SARS-COV-2 along with an adjuvant (booster) is given as a vaccine.

What does it take to develop a vaccine of this kind?

Vaccine development is a long, complex process. Unlike drugs that are given to people with a diseased, vaccines are given to healthy people and also vulnerable sections such as children, pregnant women and the elderly. So rigorous tests are compulsory. History says that the fastest time it took to develop a vaccine is five years, but it usually takes double or sometimes triple that time.

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