Updated information on Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) and vaccines (15 Apr 2021)
Updated information on Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) and vaccines
1. New direction in fighting pandemic & Social distancing measures under Prevention and Control of Disease OrdinanceWith the fourth wave of the epidemic which has emerged since the second half of November last year apparently under control, a new direction in fighting the pandemic will be adopted down the road. The Government will adjust various anti-epidemic measures with "vaccine bubble" as the basis. Members of the public are encouraged to get vaccinated sooner rather than later so that Hong Kong can gradually return to normality, and the flow of people with the Mainland and overseas can be restored as soon as possible.However, to continue containing the spread of the disease and taking into account the pressure for potential rebound of the epidemic brought by earlier relaxation of social distancing measures and the frequent gatherings among members of the public during the long holiday, the Government still needs to maintain existing social distancing measures for the coming two weeks for prudence's sake. The COVID-19 Vaccination Programme has been smoothly implemented for a while. Some staff members of the catering business premises or scheduled premises have completed the vaccination course (i.e. after 14 days following the administration of two vaccine doses for production of antibodies). In view of the protection brought by the vaccination, the relevant staff member will not need to undergo regular testing starting from the fourteenth day upon his or her completion of a COVID-19 vaccination course. However, any person who has symptoms should seek medical attention immediately and undergo testing. Relevant staff member should keep the vaccination record as proof of vaccination. The fourteenth day upon a person's completion of a vaccination course is counted by taking the next day after the person received all of the recommended dose(s) of vaccine as the first day. For example, for a person who has not been infected with COVID-19 and received the second dose of vaccine on April 15, the "first day" would be April 16 and the "fourteenth day" would be April 29. If the epidemic situation remains stable, the Government will adjust social distancing measures orderly with 'vaccine bubble' as the basis. The details will be announced later. https://www.info.gov.hk/gia/general/202104/12/P2021041200923.htm https://www.info.gov.hk/gia/general/202104/14/P2021041400025.htm2. Specifications under Prevention and Control of Disease (Regulation of Cross-boundary Conveyances and Travellers) Regulation to be gazetted The global pandemic situation remains severe. During the two-week period from late March to early April, there were over 7.9 million new cases and more than 138 000 new deaths reported globally. Hong Kong cannot afford to drop its guard on entry prevention and control measures. The Secretary for Food and Health will publish in the Gazette updated specifications made under Cap. 599H to include Egypt under the high-risk Group B specified places. The relevant specifications will be effective from April 20 until further notice.Details on the grouping of specified places and their respective boarding and compulsory quarantine requirements can be found at: www.coronavirus.gov.hk/eng/high-risk-places.html 3. Government implements various measures to improve workflow of COVID-19 vaccination To facilitate the public's identification of the correct venue for vaccination, each of the community vaccination centres (CVCs) and designated general outpatient clinics of the Hospital Authority have been assigned a unique code number. The code number for venues administering Sinovac vaccine will start with the prefix "S", while those for BioNTech vaccination will start with the prefix "B". For example, S01 is the code number of the Hong Kong Central Library CVC which administers Sinovac vaccine, and B02 is the code number of the Sun Yat Sen Memorial Park Sports Centre CVC which administers BioNTech vaccine. The SMS messages for persons to be vaccinated will also start right-away with the code number of the vaccination venue chosen. In addition, the CVCs will also display their code number at prominent positions at the venue entrance. These arrangements will help reception staff and the public alike to tell if the latter has come to the correct vaccination venue.For details, please refer to: https://www.info.gov.hk/gia/general/202104/13/P2021041300846.htm 4. Outreach Vaccination Arrangement for RCHs The Outreach Vaccination Arrangement for Residential Care Homes (RCHs) under the COVID-19 Vaccination Programme (outreach arrangement) started on April 13. Outreach teams and visiting medical officers (VMOs) will visit the RCHs for the elderly that are participating in the outreach arrangement, which provides free vaccination services at the RCHs for their residents and service users of the day service units attached to the premises of the RCHs who have agreed to receive a vaccination and have been assessed by medical doctors as suitable for receiving a vaccination.Residents who choose not to participate in the outreach vaccination arrangement will not be vaccinated in the RCHs, but they can still make bookings by themselves and receive a vaccination at Community Vaccination Centres or other locations. For details, please refer to: https://www.info.gov.hk/gia/general/202104/13/P2021041300415.htm More information on COVID-19 vaccines: www.covidvaccine.gov.hk
We would like to solicit your support to disseminate the information to your service users so that they could adopt proper preventive measures. Thank you very much for your support.
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