Fear of fresh wave of outbreak pushes vaccination rate up in HK

Hong Kong saw on Tuesday a record high of 18,000 residents taking the first dose of COVID-19 shot, amid fear of the fifth outbreak and the plan to ban unvaccinated from entering restaurants, libraries, schools and other public facilities.

The figure is the highest number of people getting first dose since Sept 4. Meanwhile, a total of 38,695 doses have been administered in a single day – the highest since Sept 25. By 8 pm on Tuesday, over 10 million shots had been taken.

On Tuesday, the government announced a plan to expand the vaccine bubble move to prohibit unvaccinated residents from eateries and other specified areas, including public recreation facilities and schools. The plan will be launched on Feb 24.

Also on Tuesday, Hong Kong confirmed its first untraceable preliminary infection, the first in the city since Oct 8, arousing further concerns about the city's pandemic situation. The city on Tuesday confirmed 39 positive cases of COVID-19, bringing the total infection cases to 12,690.

Since Jan 1, it has reported a total of 71 asymptomatic patients.

The government ordered compulsory testing for residents who have been to 57 specified premises in order to ferret out more possible infections to cut the transmission chain.

Speaking at an online forum on Tuesday, Lau Yu-lung, chairman of Scientific Committee on Vaccine Preventable Diseases, said that Hong Kong is edging closer to the fifth wave of the outbreak. He added that new cases will not rise if Hong Kong residents cooperate with pandemic control. Lau also suggested the government should allow those aged below 12 to get vaccinated, while calling for those aged over 80 to get shots soon.