(Bloomberg) -- Hong Kong, which hasn't seen a local Covid-19 outbreak for months, hasn't done enough to prepare for a resurgence of the virus, Health Secretary Sophia Chan said, even as the the city tightens measures in a bid to hasten quarantine-free travel with mainland China.
Some of the world's strictest Covid rules have been instituted in Hong Kong, including building a dashboard to look at where cases are and sewage surveillance that can track infections, Chan said at Wednesday's Asia Summit on Global Health in Hong Kong.
“Is it enough? I don't think it's enough,” she said. “There are many, many areas that we need to further digitalize, in terms of contact tracing, in terms of much of the work of databases we are putting together. The health code we are developing if we are to pursue cross-border travel with the mainland. All these are things we need to continue to work on. Because this is a global pandemic. This is something that's not contained.”
The Asian financial hub on Tuesday moved to bolster its restrictions, making check-in via the government's LeaveHomeSafe contact tracing app mandatory at restaurants and bars starting December 9. Hong Kong has some of the world's most intense anti-virus measures, including hotel quarantines of up to three weeks, but its adherence to the Covid Zero policy embraced by the mainland is raising concerns that it will be left behind as the rest of the world reopens.
Hong Kong-China Border Won't Reopen Before Dec. 19, Lam Says
Hong Kong's government sees opening the border with the mainland as a key priority, though Chief Executive Carrie Lam said this week it wouldn't happen before a vote of the local legislature scheduled for Dec. 19.
A delegation of Chinese health experts was in Hong Kong this week to review the city's Covid measures ahead of allowing quarantine-free travel. Lam said officials from both sides were set to meet in Shenzhen on Thursday to continue their discussions on the matter.
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