Covid Surge May Mean Venue Bans For The Unjabbed: CE

Chief Executive Carrie Lam has warned that the government may ban unvaccinated people from places such as schools if Hong Kong is hit by another wave of Covid-19.

Some medical experts have said the administration should look at letting only vaccinated people enter crowded public venues, so as to persuade more people to get inoculated.

At her weekly press briefing on Tuesday, Lam said the government isn't planning such a move at present, but that could change if there's a surge in local Covid cases.

"If... we were hit by a new wave, we wouldn't want to close all the venues... We want to maintain stability for the social distancing measures, we don't want venues and schools to be closed on and off," she said.

"So in the future if we were hit by a new wave, whether schools could be fully opened, we would have to set the requirement by vaccination."

Lam also urged people to do more to encourage the unvaccinated to get jabs, saying doctors in particular should advise the elderly to get inoculated.

She noted that while around 60 percent of those eligible for the shots have been vaccinated, the figure is just half that for people aged 70 or above.