Fewer Tests For Arrivals Won't Hurt: Leung Chi-chiu

Infectious disease specialist Leung Chi-chiu on Friday backed the government’s decision to halve the number of compulsory PCR tests for airport arrivals to two, saying he does not see the move affecting the local epidemic.

"Imported infections, whether mutated or not, only take up about eight percent of our total number of cases," Leung said during an RTHK programme, explaining his view that the threat from travellers is relatively small now.

"The other thing is that, when it comes to variant strains, the variant cases found in our community, especially for XBB and BQ1.1, are way higher than in imported cases," he added.

Leung said he sees room to further cut the number of PCR tests for travellers.

"PCR testing for arrivals only serves the purpose of monitoring for new variants or special cases in imported infections," he said, pointing out that rapid tests should be enough to help lower the risks from travellers when they enter the community.

Also responding to the testing requirement change, tourism sector lawmaker Perry Yiu said he thinks it is good news for business travellers, but added that he does not see the move boosting Hong Kong’s appeal to tourists.

"Compared to other places or countries, our medical surveillance duration and PCR test requirement are relatively stricter, so for general tourists, the move does not change the city's attractiveness much," said Yiu during the same programme.

He called on the government to limit the PCR requirement to just one test at the airport for travellers who are coming to Hong Kong as a tour group.

Speaking on another radio programme, microbiologist Ho Pak-leung urged the authorities to scrap the LeaveHomeSafe app, which helps people record their whereabouts.

He suggested that the amber code that bars tourists from going into places where vaccine records are checked can be dropped as well.

The expert from the University of Hong Kong said he does not believe the government will again trace how cases are transmitted, noting that the authorities earlier vowed not to reinstate previous Covid measures.

But he added that the vaccine pass requirement should stay, to prevent those who are not fully vaccinated from going into high-risk venues.