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Yiu called the existing amber health code “outdated”, arguing that inbound travellers should be allowed to visit museums and watch football matches. “The amber health code is really unreasonable. Why are arrivals allowed to work or go to school but they can’t visit museums?” he said. “If they are allowed to visit museums with their masks on, it should be quite safe.”

Yiu also urged the government to move to a “0+0” scheme as soon as possible, along with dropping polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests, which he called a turn-off for overseas travellers.

“If overseas travellers are still required to undergo three PCR tests, it would be difficult to attract them to come to Hong Kong. I think conducting daily antigen rapid tests during the period would suffice,” he said.

The lawmaker said the tourism sector was still in trouble with close to 80 per cent of travel agents only recovering a tenth of business at pre-Covid levels. He estimated Hong Kong had lost HK$1 trillion (US$127.4 billion) in tourism dollars over the past three years, based on revenue of more than HK$300 billion generated by the sector in 2018.

Tourists ‘should be allowed museum entry’ during Hong Kong ‘0+3’ surveillance

Executive Council member Dr Lam Ching-choi, meanwhile, urged authorities to relax visiting and outing arrangements at elderly care homes, to increase communication between such residents and their families.

Currently, visitors for elderly care centres need to be triple-jabbed and produce negative PCR results from tests conducted in the past 48 hours. Some care homes also set daily guest quotas.

Residents in care homes, classified as one of the most vulnerable groups amid the pandemic, have generally been barred from going out, unless in emergencies or important situations, according to government guidelines.

“These elderly residents are physically and mentally fatigued from the past two years of not being able to go out. I have suggested to the Social Welfare Department to further relax policies and it has said it would consider the proposals,” the government adviser told the press after an event on Saturday.

Lam added there should be fewer restrictions for visits at care homes, while such facilities could copy the model of local tours in which groups head out to country parks under “closed-loop” arrangements.

In an earlier segment of the same radio programme that Yiu joined, government pandemic adviser Professor David Hui Shu-cheong echoed calls to further ease restrictions, saying the move could be made in two weeks if there was no infection spike from the ongoing rugby Sevens tournament.

“The chances of a sharp surge are not high,” Hui said, citing the city’s overall vaccination rate and immunity in the population from waves of earlier infections.

The tournament, which will run until Sunday, has been billed as a major event marking the reopening of Hong Kong, alongside the recently concluded FinTech Week and Global Financial Leaders’ Investment Summit.

Hui said it might take two weeks to find out whether the city would come out on top following infection risks posed by the string of mega events this week. He noted the number of imported coronavirus cases had remained “stable” even with hotel quarantine measures dropped, adding: “There is more room for relaxation.”

Hong Kong on Saturday recorded 5,111 Covid-19 infections, 494 of which were imported, and 18 additional related deaths. The city’s tally stands at 1,942,707 cases and 10,457 fatalities.

On vaccination for toddlers, Secretary for the Civil Service Ingrid Yeung Ho Poi-yan urged parents to be proactive in taking advantage of the newly available BioNTech formula.

The arrival of the specially diluted vaccine was first unveiled by health officials on Thursday, with authorities saying on Saturday the shots would be offered at Hong Kong Children’s Hospital in Kowloon and Gleneagles Hospital on Hong Kong Island.

Parents hoping to inoculate their children in the New Territories can make bookings at CUHK Medical Centre in Sha Tin and Osman Ramju Sadick Memorial Sports Centre in Kwai Chung.

Hong Kong eases Covid jab rules for primary, secondary full-day classes to resume

“Children have weaker resistance to diseases and can fall into severe conditions should they get infected with the Covid-19 virus. They may also develop medium- to long-term after-effects following recovery,” she warned.

The latest German-produced BioNTech shot can be given to children aged six months to under five years and parents are advised to leave an eight-week gap between the first and second jabs, although this period can be shortened to three weeks subject to personal needs. The third dose should be administered at least three months after the second, according to the government.

Currently, only the Chinese-made Sinovac vaccine is available to children as young as six months.

As of Saturday, 18.7 per cent of children under two years of age and 66.8 per cent of those between three and 11 years had received a first dose of the Sinovac vaccine. Another 20.3 per cent of those aged five to 11 years had received their first BioNTech shot.

Meanwhile, the Hospital Authority adjusted to the back-to-work arrangement for staff identified as close contacts of a Covid-19 case, under which employees are expected to return to work the next day the earliest if they receive a negative result on a rapid antigen test and are asymptomatic and physically fit. It will take effect from November 9.

A spokesman for the authority said it adjusted the measure due to a possible surge in demand for medical services as the city faced the winter flu season.

“After considering demand for medical staff during the pandemic and the influenza season, and balancing infectious risks, the Hospital Authority has decided to revise the relevant work arrangements,” it said.

But staff should undergo PCR tests in the first six day of being identified as a close contact and they are required to wear respirators during work hours and eat alone, according to the authority.

Additional reporting by William Yiu

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