(Fighting New Coronary Pneumonia) Zhang Jianzong: The SAR government-led vaccination program allows citizens to vaccinate free of charge on a voluntary basis
China News Service, Hong Kong, December 13. Zhang Jianzong, Chief Secretary for Administration of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government, stated in his blog on the 13th that it is important for all Hong Kong citizens to get vaccinated as soon as possible for Hong Kong to return to normal life.
The SAR government’s goal is to provide the majority of Hong Kong citizens with vaccines by 2021, and to provide citizens with free vaccination through a vaccination program led by the SAR government.
He revealed that the first batch of vaccines will be given priority to high-risk groups such as medical staff, the elderly, chronically ill, elderly or disabled employees in institutions.
He pointed out that under the "two-pronged" strategy, the SAR government has on the one hand participated in the global acquisition mechanism for the new crown vaccine led by the World Health Organization, purchasing vaccine doses for 35% of Hong Kong's population, as a way to cater for the needs of the most vulnerable groups in society. safe net.
On the other hand, the SAR government has signed pre-purchase agreements with individual vaccine manufacturers to obtain more supplies.
In order to expedite the registration process of vaccines in Hong Kong so that the vaccines can be used in Hong Kong as soon as possible, Zhang Jianzong revealed that the authorities have launched emergency legislation to allow the emergency use of any vaccine that has been proven safe and effective in Hong Kong.
Zhang Jianzong emphasized that the SAR government will actively purchase vaccines and do its best to prepare a large-scale vaccination plan at full speed.
He also mentioned that in terms of strengthening the "external import prevention" measures, the Hong Kong International Airport's sampling and testing arrangements for people arriving in Hong Kong will be changed from the original "deep throat saliva samples" provided by passengers to sampling by designated personnel from the 15th. The "throat and nasal cavity combined swab samples" ensure the quality of sample collection.
At the same time, the designated quarantine hotel plan will be implemented from 0:00 on December 22, requiring all persons arriving in Hong Kong from countries other than China to undergo a 14-day compulsory quarantine at designated hotels in accordance with relevant regulations.
At present, the first batch of 36 designated quarantine hotels provide about 12,000 rooms of different prices and types, distributed in different areas for travelers to choose from.
In addition, since the SAR government launched the "Travel with Peace" mobile application in mid-November, Zhang Jianzong revealed that it has been downloaded more than 360,000 times so far.
Food and beverage premises that are open for business and listed premises must display the QR code of the application in a prominent place.
From December 2 to 11, the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department inspected food and beverage premises 8229 times, and all of them (including 31 cases with verbal warnings) have complied with the regulations.
On the 12th, the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department initiated prosecution procedures against the persons in charge of 3 catering premises that failed to properly display the QR code poster of "Travel with peace of mind".
He said that the SAR government will continue to actively invite and welcome more industries and merchants to join, and once again appeals to the public to download the "Travel with peace of mind" mobile application, so that everyone can travel more at ease. (Finish)