HONG KONG, 12 May 2021: So far, 1,776,500 doses of Covid -19 vaccines have been administered to residents in Hong Kong, with about 1,087,200 people receiving their first dose and about 689,300 getting their second, the Hong Kong government reported this week.

Among those given the first dose, about 481,800 people received the Sinovac jab and about 605,400 the BioNTech vaccine. For the second dose, about 344,600 received the Sinovac vaccine, and 344,700 the BioNTech jab.

Hong Kong intends to innoculate at least 70% of the territory’s 7.5 million residents leading up to easing border controls and efforts to kickstart tourism recovery possibly starting in August.

Meanwhile, the government announced this week it is adjusting boarding and quarantine measures based on the “vaccine bubble” concept.

It will shorten the compulsory quarantine for persons arriving in Hong Kong. Persons who have stayed in low-risk group D countries or territories and are fully vaccinated will be subject to compulsory quarantine in designated quarantine hotels for seven days (originally 14 days). They will subsequently be required to self-monitor for seven days and undergo mandatory testing on the 12th day of their arrival in Hong Kong. 

For persons who have stayed in the medium-risk group C and high-risk group B countries who have been fully vaccinated, they will be subject to compulsory quarantine in designated quarantine hotels for 14 days (originally 21 days). They will subsequently be required to self-monitor for seven days and undergo mandatory testing on the 16th and 19th day of their arrival in Hong Kong.

For all other categories, the quarantine and testing arrangements will remain unchanged.

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.