Being billed as a "Command & Coordination Group" press conference. So hopefully we either have an increase in quarantine, a decrease in quarantine or an announcement of a new coordination group which will be tasked with buying some new fax machines to study two years worth of new data and make some recommendations.
In attendance:
Live Broadcast:1. Chief Executive, Mr John Lee
2. Secretary for Health, Professor Lo Chung-mau
3. Secretary for Innovation, Technology and Industry, Professor Sun Dong
4. Deputy Secretary for Health (Special Duties), Mr Vincent Fung
5. Deputy Government Chief Information Officer, Mr Tony Wong
https://webcast.info.gov.hk/revamp/eng/livecast.html
Highlights:
- CE Remarks
- We started work in July, starting 27th of July we formed a new group and today is the first press conference.
- Overseas and Taiwan arrival changes - takes effect on Friday
- 3 days in quarantine hotel + 4 day medical surveillance at home.
- 4 days - can go out but cannot enter anywhere with active LHS scanning (bars, restaurants, etc etc). (Will post a list later.) Cannot elderly homes, schools (questionable - waiting to see official press release / gazette), no activities where masks are taken off. Need daily RATs and go to work and enter shopping malls and public markets.
- PCR requirements. If you are positive will not be allowed to leave quarantine (RED CODE). Yellow code will be given if you're negative and code will change to blue at end of 4 days.- 5 point strategy
- Will actively control cases. Number of admissions is climbing proportionately. Non-essentially services in public hospitals will be reduced.
- With precision identify people at risks to control the scope and number of people affected.
- Strike balance between risks and economic activity. Preserve maximum movement of people.
- Reduce cases and fatalities
- Protect vulnerable and high risk (young / old / chronically ill).
- Sec Health - Lo Ching-mau
- Red and Yellow Code: To identify high risk people. Red code - identify positive cases, yellow code to identify overseas arrivals and in "quarantine".
- DoH: Has been monitoring imported cases and analysis shows - 4% of arrivals are +ve. 50% are picked up in test and hold at airport. PCR test on 2nd day identifies 80% of these cases. For every 1000 arrivals - 40 are imported cases. PCR test and hold identifies 20. 20 go to hotels and 12 are identified by 3rd day. Only 8 cases (0.8%) are identified after day 3.
- Additional 4 nights is not cost effective and impacts HK's connection with the world. Arrivals from overseas and Taiwan - if they're -ve on test and hold, will be allowed to on application will be allowed to replace 7 day hotel quarantine with 4 day of home quarantine.
- Daily mask-on activity will be allowed (including work - assuming you're masked @ work). Not sure about schools.
- Summary:
- Arrivals spend 3 nights in DQH.
- Morning of the 3rd day, there will be confirmation of PCR test.
- When you receive -ve result, starting from 9AM, can leave hotel and spend 4 nights @ home till 9AM on 7th day (yellow code). Yellow code will be cancelled on 7th day.
- Arrivals will have to self monitor after 7 days.
- Arrivals will be required to conduct number of PCR test - 4,6,9 days and daily RAT will 10th day.
- Arrivals will have to submit pre-arrival declaration and will receive QR code.
- Documents will not be checked and QR code will allow them to go through a fast channel and go to quarantine hotel. Will receive information information on vaccine passes etc.
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- Hotel Booking Information
- Inbound travellers - day of arrivals is "0". Day 1-3 will be in the hotel. Around noon you can leave and start 4 days of medical surveillance.
- Those who have booked 7 days. You can make use of the original booking documents to check in at flight and around noon you can leave the hotel.
- Most will check out in the morning and the hotels will deal with the checkout according to anti qurantine requirements (don't rush out at 9AM!). Can leave in batches according to the hotel.
- If there is a shortening in stay, the amount not spent will have to be refunded. 10Ks of requests will have to be processed. Be paitent.
- Sec IT
- Regulated premises will have to update their apps to check yellow / red code status.
- Update to version 3.4 LHS.
- Dep Sec Health - Shows how to use the app..
- Tap on settings and see if there an update. Stay on latest version. App will check database status change your code status if applicable.
- Data will be refreshed regularly to change red / yellow status.
- If you are not connected to the internet your QR code may be blue, but the checking apps will know its red or yellow.
Q&A
- Phoenix TV - With 4000 cases / day and relaxation of arrivals - have you given up on mainland connections. How will you check public transport for foreign mutants?
- When it comes to mainland connections and overseas connections, both don't have to happen at the same time. 3+4 is to strike a balance and freedom / economic activity in our community. We're still working on opening mainland quarantine. Mainland still has 7+3 quarantine.
- We understand mainland risk management and we hope to reduce inconvenience and have explained our position to mainland authorities. We want to reduce risk to mainland... We want to give them confidence that any measures to reduce local inconvenience are properly controlled. A number of proposals have been put forward.
- CE mentions 3 doses will be the minimum .. (not sure minimum for what..)
- Commercial Radio: Now you use 3+4, what happened to 5+2? For 4 days medical surveillance how will people go to their homes? Restaurants will have their checking apps connected to the govt backend - so how does that protect personal privacy?
- There are different speculations on 3+4, 5+2, (12+10 etc etc ..) no comment. We have come to the most effective solution based on our 5 point strategy.
- You can go back to your home "under medical surveillance" - required to do an RAT every day and can take public transportation. Can go back on public transport or stay in another hotel to continue medical surveillance.
- Vaccine pass will determine yellow / red codes. They're under "real name" controls. In line with existing practice.
- SCMP: What are the risks increases? How does this match dynamic zero? Will there be further reduction in the future? Will young students be at increased risk if people are allowed to go to work in schools?
- In consideration of hotel quarantine - (FFS ... in line with 5 points!) Using scientific evidence and analysis people are being split into risk groups and the strategy has been brought in after studying those risks.
- Main purpose is while we can control the threat to public health, we also want to ensure maximum economic and social activity. It is a balance of factors. There is a strong emphasis on protecting the vulnerable and reduce cases / fatalities / serious cases.
- Will be monitoring regularly and making good use of PCR tests to identify risk groups depending on the development of epidemic situation.
- Will try our best NOT to roll back measures...
- Students (&workers) having yellow code and going to schools. Only applies to people coming from overseas and Taiwan through HK airport - after 3 days on hotel quarantine and not PCR positive.
- TVB: What were the technical issues? Have they been resolved? (Have the QR code fax machines been delivered?) Why are the travellers allowed to take transport to leave the hotel? Do you think that the measures will help recovery?
- Views and speculations about fax machines are not worth commenting on.
- Today's announcement is it ... don't rely on previous (shit) ... Current measures are in line with our 5 point strategy.
- (DoH) Consideration is based on risk assessment. Not "zero risk" but "controllable risk" (dynamic risk?). 3 days stay in hotel identifies 80% of cases and 4 additional days does not achieve more.... (2 years later we figured this shit out!)
- When you leave the hotel with a yellow code after PCR test, you can go on public transport - but masked so the risk is (much) lower than randos in the community.
- Privacy - QR code data is sent to govt on verification - it is not stored on govt system. (Ok...)
- Not sure who .. may be RTHK in English: Why 3 days... not 2?
- (FFS) We have explained our 5 points and studied data etc...
- Sounds like we're at a point where reporters are just repeating shit to hear their own voices / get sound bites .. getting repetitive with not much new info. Going to tune out unless there is something significant. Doubt it...- Commercial Radio - Why is arrival - "day 0" and not "day 1". How will you ensure RAT tests are done correctly?
- PCR tests are accurate.
- DoH on Day 0 / Day - In terms of people under quarantine or isolation, when the first PCR test sample is available it will be considered day 0. This is medically speaking "day 0" and aligning definition. From quarantine point of view, when the traveller arrives they have not completed 1 day of quarantine post PCR test. 72 hours in quarantine is what we're aiming for.
- DoH on RAT - Self testing and self reporting. A breach of the quarantine order is $25K fine and six months in prison (max). We urge people to comply with restrictions. They should perform RAT and 4,6,9th day PCR test is part of the requirement under the law. (FFS we know who you are when you enter HK and we have your DNA! We will find you!)