Covid-19 | Gov’t will not follow HK standards regarding unvaccinated civil servants

Local health authorities have refuted the idea of adopting the standard in force in the neighboring region of Hong Kong which requires unvaccinated civil servants to perform a frequent nucleic acid test (NAT), which they must pay for themselves, Dr. Tai Wa Hou, coordinator of the bureau’s Covid-19 Vaccination Operation said to a media question during yesterday’s Covid-19 press briefing.
According to Tai, the local authorities are not planning to change any of the current measures which state that vaccination is a completely voluntary process and individuals are not subjected to measures that would compel them to get vaccinated against their will.
Information aired from the media sources states that in Hong Kong, unvaccinated civil servants and other public sector employees must undergo frequent NAT to be able to continue to work at their job posts. The individuals must pay for these tests and will receive no financial support from the government.
According to the same source, these measures have been regarded as a significant influence on creating a high rate of vaccination among the neighboring region’s civil servants.
“Our goal is a step-by-step increase in the vaccination rate. If we can vaccinate all the population, that would be ideal, but this is not likely to happen. Still, we want and will strive for the increase of the [vaccination] rate to be as higher as possible,” Tai said, adding that some achievements in the vaccination of the population have been reached, such as a 70% vaccination rate among medical and health care staff.
“We will continue to promote and incentivize the different groups and sectors to vaccinate. We will focus on civil servants, teachers, and other people that work in senior citizens homes, and other services. We are aiming at them as they have a broader contact [with people] and higher responsibilities. If they get infected, it is very easy to infect other people.
They have the duty and responsibility of get vaccinated and also to incentivize others [to get vaccinated],” Tai remarked.
Questioned by the media on why the government is attributing more responsibility to these people than other residents, Tai said, “When we say responsibility, we are talking about the frontline workers, all of them. As health professionals, we have the duty to promote the vaccine.”
Meanwhile, the Education and Youth Development Bureau (DSEDJ) Non-Higher Education Department head, Wong Ka Ki, noted that the program of promoting vaccination in schools is ongoing, with several seminars for different groups being held.
Wong added that for the time being there is no specific date for when will the vaccination outreach program in schools will commence as the DSEDJ is still preparing and collecting data at schools.
Wong noted that, regarding the NAT for cross-border students, teachers, and school staff members, the DSEDJ has received a total of 11,000 requests for the tests, of which 80% have been concluded.

Case 61 released from hospital
Health authorities also confirmed yesterday that one of the patients infected with the Delta variant of Covid-19, a 12-year-old girl, was released from hospital last Friday after concluding treatment and testing negative for Covid-19 in two consecutive tests.
“The patient, classified as the number 61 in Macau, has been now transferred to the last phase of the recovery, being released from medical care,” Tai confirmed.
She is the daughter of a family of four found to be infected in early August after a school trip to Xi’an.

Election arrangements yet to be done

The health authorities said that the Novel Coronavirus Response and Coordination Center is still in talks with the Legislative Assembly Electoral Affairs Commission (CAEAL) to decide on the final guidelines and procedures to be followed on the September 12 elections.
Answering several questions from the media, Dr. Leong Iek Hou said that the final arrangements of how or if residents undergoing medical observation in quarantine can vote have not yet been settled, but will be soon announced by the CAEAL, she said. She added that other details, such as infection prevention measures related to the voting and polling stations are also to be announced.
“We have gathered several times but there are many details that still need to be defined. We still have time to discuss this,” Leong said, adding, “I believe that CAEAL will publish these instructions soon, so it is best to wait for their publication.”