香港昨日新增9033宗确诊个案，为一个多星期以来的新低，但有专家警告，中秋假后个案或会出现反弹，长幼接种率仍然相对较低，不可掉以轻心。另一方面，政府近期不断放宽入境检疫限制，输入个案恐会持续上升。因应新的形势及经济发展的需要，政府须坚定抗疫目标，真正做到精准抗疫，并积极借鉴其他地区做法，为下一步防控疫情工作做好准备。

　　过去一段时间以来，香港每天有大约1万宗感染个案，确诊数字处于高位横行状态。政府专家顾问刘宇隆认为，Omicron BA.4或BA.5的百分比已超过75%，根据其他地方的经验，预计一星期后确诊数字就会见顶，然后慢慢回落。专家有其判断的依据，但确诊个案会否“如期”回落，仍面临许多不确定因素，尤其是在实施了一系列放宽入境检疫政策之后，疫情反复很可能还要延续较长一段时间。

　　客观而言，受疫情以及外围环境转差等多项因素影响，香港经济饱受压力。截至7月，本港住宅楼价比去年9月高位回落逾5%，今年首8个月成交量较去年同期下跌近4成。另外，港股市况偏弱，都在遏抑市民消费意欲及影响经济气氛。财政司司长陈茂波昨日表示，明白有效管控疫情是稳住经济大局的最根本，但在防控疫情下，同时便利往还和保住经济，是极具挑战及不易平衡，认为进一步扩大疫苗接种，才有更多空间最大程度恢复通关及稳住经济。

　　既要做到稳控疫情又能推动经济发展，并非一定是“不可能的任务”。以日本为例，该国政府昨日表示，正检视每日入境人数上限5万人的规定，料将撤销入境上限，届时会同步放宽签证和外国旅客跟团的规定，可能允许自由行。看似日本在“全面放宽”，但实际上其抗疫工作是更加“精准”。

　　具体而言，旅客入境日本后必须下载包括MySOS及COCOA等三款手机程式。前者是接种及个人资料的收集，后者则是个人位置讯息的收集。若有多个用户在相距1米的范围内停留超过15分锺，且后续有人确诊，其他人会很快接收到相应的通知。另一方面，入境日本虽无需导游随行，但仍须透过旅行社预约机票以及所有住宿，并提供旅程中能随时联系上的联络方式，才可入境。任何人若没有及时下载使用上述程式或提交准确资料，随时可能被强制遣返，取消在留资格。

　　日本在外防输入方面“严之又严”，但没有人质疑其追踪个人位置的做法，许多香港市民关心的是能否入境日本、而不在于是否被追踪位置，这也反映了香港抗疫的不足之处。外国这些追踪定位的做法，可以借鉴。如果香港未来需要进一步放宽入境检疫限制，那么就有必要强化相关的配套政策，确保追溯机制能发挥实效。

　　摆在香港社会面前的是严峻的形势，既要稳控疫情，又要推动经济发展，极其不易。但问题的主次不能颠倒，说到底，稳控疫情才是根本之道，唯有在真正稳控疫情的情况下，逐步推动增加对外联系，才是稳妥做法。当然，这并不意味着香港要采取被动政策应对，不是要闭关自守。特区政府要有更精准的对策、更积极的配套、更有效的防疫措施，并从提升疫苗接种率入手，多管齐下，务实推进，才能走出一条精准抗疫之路。

　　2022-09-12

　　While there may be a rebound in the epidemic situation after the Mid-autumn Festival, Hong Kong must unswervingly adhere to targeted anti-epidemic strategies

　　There were some 9,033 confirmed cases of Covid-19 infection in Hong Kong yesterday, which was a new low in more than a week. But some expert(s) warned that there could still be a rebound in the epidemic situation after the Mid-autumn Festival. We must not lower our guard as the vaccination coverage for both the elderly and children is still quite low. On the other hand, as the government has recently kept easing quarantine measures for inbound travelers, imported cases are likely to steadily increase. In accordance with such a new situation and the need to boost economic development, the government must firmly stick to its anti-epidemic goal and truly implement precision-guided anti-epidemic measures. At the same time, it should proactively draw on the experiences of other regions to make good preparations for the next-stage epidemic prevention and control.

　　During a certain period of time in the past, the daily number of confirmed cases in Hong Kong remained about 10,000, staying at a high level. Professor Lau Yu Lung, a member of the government's Expert Advisory Panel, said that the percentage of the variants Omicron BA.4 or BA.5 now already exceeds 75, and as such, according to experiences in other regions, the daily number of confirms cases will reach its peak in a week's time and then slowly come down. Experts have their criteria for making their judgments. But whether the number of confirmed cases would drop"in time" as expected, there are still quite a lot of uncertain factors. In particular, after the implementation of eased quarantine measures for inbound travelers, the daily cases may still possibly swing up and down a bit for a relatively long period of time

　　Objectively speaking, affected by multiple factors such as the lingering epidemic and worsening external environment, Hong Kong's economy is under heavy pressures. By July, housing price in the city has gone down over five percent from its high in last September, and the volume of transactions dropped about 40 per cent in August year on year. Moreover, Hong Kong's stock market remains rather weak. All this dampens consumer and economic sentiments. Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po wrote [in his Blog] yesterday that"We all understand that effective control of the epidemic is most fundamental to stabilising the economy… It is true that striking a balance between keeping the epidemic under control on the one hand, and facilitating travel and maintaining the economy on the other, is extremely challenging," and only by"further enhancing vaccination coverage would we have the greatest flexibility" to restore exchanges with other places and stabilise the economy.

　　It is not necessarily a"mission impossible" to keep the epidemic under control and at the same time boost economic development. To take Japan for an example, its government said yesterday it was reviewing its border control policy of keeping daily entries below 50,000 and would remove the entry cap in the "not so distant future". In addition, the Japanese government may simultaneously relax entry visa rules and allow foreign tourists to travel in the country without a tour guide. It seem as if Japan was to completely give up its epidemic control, but in fact its fight against the virus is to be more"precisely targeted".

　　Specifically, upon arrival, a tourist must download three mobile applications including MySOS and COCOA. The former is for collecting the app user's vaccination record and personal data while the latter for tracing their whereabouts. If two or more users stay together with a distance of no more than one metre between them for 15 minutes or longer, and afterwards a confirmed case is found among them, all others would be promptly notified. On the other hand, while foreign tourists may travel without a tour guide, they have to book air tickets and lodgings through travel agencies and provide contact information so that they could be reached at any moment. Otherwise, they will be denied entry into the country. Anyone who fails to download the above-mentioned applications or provide precise information could be repatriated and their visa be cancelled.

　　Japan's measures to prevent importations of cases of infection are"strict and severe", but its practice to trace a person's real-time whereabouts is never been questioned. What many Hong Kong citizens care about is whether they can enter into Japan rather than whether their whereabouts would be traced. This shows a shortcoming in Hong Kong's epidemic control. We can draw on foreign countries' location-tracing practices. If, in a time to come, Hong Kong needs to further relax its quarantine rules for inbound travelers, then we must enhance relevant supporting policies to make sure an effective location-tracing mechanism is in place.

　　What Hong Kong is facing is a tough situation. It is extremely not easy to keep the epidemic under control and at the same time boost economic development. However, regarding this matter, a clear distinction between the primary and the secondary must be drawn. In the final analysis, to bring the epidemic under control is to tackle the problem at its roots. A safe and reliable way is to gradually promote and increase exchanges with other places only when the epidemic situation is truly under control. Surely this is not meant that Hong Kong should take passive policies to cope with the situation let alone close its doors to keep itself to itself. The SAR Government must work out more"precisely targeted" anti-epidemic policies with more proactive supporting and effective measures. Only by taking a multi-pronged approach starting with boosting vaccination coverage, can Hong Kong step into a route of fighting against the virus in a more"precisely targeted"way.

　　12 September 2022