The city, one of the most densely populated in the world, is facing the worst wave of Covid-19 since the start of the pandemic, recording thousands of infections every day.

From Thursday, all residents aged 12 and over will need to prove they have received at least one dose or have a medical exemption to eat out.

“Everyone should carry their vaccination record or exemptions like their ID card,” Kevin Choi, assistant secretary for food and health, said Monday at a press conference.

In some places, such as markets, supermarkets, hospitals and government buildings, residents will not have to show proof of their vaccinations, but will be subject to spot checks and could be fined.

In the coming months, Hong Kongers should have received three doses of the vaccine.

In January, Chief Executive Carrie Lam said she hoped the measure would encourage hesitant people to get vaccinated.

This vaccination pass is the latest measure put in place to deal with the wave of coronavirus sweeping the territory which has one of the lowest vaccination rates in developed countries.

Like neighboring mainland China, Hong Kong is applying a zero Covid strategy and the territory has not recorded any local cases for months.

But the authorities did not take advantage of this period to prepare for an epidemic and medical experts believe that they should have encouraged the population to be vaccinated.

Less than 50% of older people have received two doses of the vaccine.

Construction of a temporary isolation center to accommodate patients with Covid-19, February 20, 2022 in Hong Kong Bertha WANG AFP

Authorities are not allowing people who test positive to self-isolate at home.

They decided to build, with the help of China, new facilities and to requisition hotel rooms to place the sick in quarantine.

The number of cases is expected to rise to "hundreds of thousands" in the coming weeks, warned Karen Grepin of the University of Hong Kong's school of public health.

“All the data seems to indicate that this wave is only in its infancy,” she told public broadcaster RTHK on Monday.

The authorities are preparing to test all of the 7.5 million inhabitants in the coming weeks with the support of China.

The move came after Chinese President Xi Jinping last week urged Hong Kong to take "all necessary measures" to stem the pandemic.

The financial center, which has remained cut off from the world for most of the past two years, is being taken over by China, which has muzzled all dissent.

With authorities seemingly determined to continue with their zero Covid policy, the number of people deciding to leave the city has soared.

Patients lying outside the Caritas medical center in Hong Kong, February 18, 2022 Peter PARKS AFP / Archives

According to government data, 27,703 people left Hong Kong, once considered the "international city of Asia," last week.

This is the highest figure since the start of the pandemic.

On Friday, charities sounded the alarm over the treatment of domestic workers, often Filipino or Indonesian, who claim to have been fired after testing positive for Covid and forced to sleep outside.

© 2022 AFP