Hong Kong SAR Chief Executive John Lee announced yesterday that Hong Kong residents will no longer be required to use “LeaveHomeSafe”, an official COVID-19 mobile application, to access public venues from today.
Lee told reporters that the Vaccine Pass will be still needed for entering catering business premises.
Beginning from today, the “amber code” temporarily barring access to certain venues will be scrapped, Lee said, noting that all residents, including inbound travelers, will receive a “red code” only when COVID-19 infection is confirmed.
He said the risk of imported cases in Hong Kong is now lower than the risk of local infections, and the removal of the “amber code” will not increase the risk of infection in the community.
In practical terms, that means the end of the 0+3 home quarantine for inbound travelers.
Although Hong Kong ended two and half years of mandatory hotel quarantine for arrivals in September, visitors have yet to return to the city in large numbers.
Daily arrivals are currently hovering around 20,000 people, most of them Hong Kong residents, compared with about 350,000 in November 2019.
