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中英社评/推动“疫苗气泡”促进内外循环

2021-04-26 04:24:47大公报
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  特区政府计劃以“疫苗气泡”为基础,逐步放宽社交距离措施,其中有不少亮点,包括本月底扩大“回港易”、下月推出“来港易”,规範“安心出行”等,这是香港人困守疫城一年又四个月以来首次见到走出疫情的曙光,令人鼓舞。

  本港连续三日没有源头不明的本地确诊个案,第四波疫情缓和,显示香港已是低风险地区,为特区政府逐步放宽社交距离创造了条件。特首林郑月娥昨日公布一系列政策,最大的亮点就是“疫苗气泡”,将社交距离鬆绑与疫苗接种及“安心出行”挂鈎。对食肆等商家而言,有了要求员工注射疫苗及顾客使用“安心出行”的动力;对打工仔而言,接种已成为就业的构成要件;对顾客来说,若要享受大家庭及亲友聚餐的乐趣,方便出入各种场所,就必须打疫苗。

  事实上,本港接种率差强人意,迄今覆盖不足一成人口,严重落后於形势。不少市民对接种表现犹豫,是因为打疫苗对自己没有什麼明显的“好处”,不如再“等一等”。特区政府要提高市民接种积极性,就必须因势利导,而让已经接种者享受尚未接种者所没有的各种待遇,包括出入各种社交场所,透过香港与外地达成的“旅遊气泡”安排,出境旅遊公幹,这对“憋坏了”的市民而言自然有吸引力。

  要求所有顾客必须使用“安心出行”,“填表”不再是“选项”,也是一大进步。“安心出行”其实是港版“健康码”,方便万一食肆爆疫时追踪顾客,截断传播链,但也因此被别有用心者污名化为所谓“侵犯私隐”。一些人以填表替代“安心出行”,不过是胡写几个字虚应故事,一些“黄店”更公开杯葛“安心出行”,导致“安心出行”的功能大打折扣。目前,仅有约半数市民安装了“安心出行”,意味着另一半市民仍然没有安装,这是抗疫的一大漏洞。取消填表是好事,但一定要加强抽查与执法,防範有人阳奉阴违。

  本月底扩大内地港人“回港易”,下月推出允许内地人免检访港的“来港易”,反映特区政府抗疫尊重科学,从谏如流。内地早已实现动态“清零”,本港近月来的所有输入确诊个案,没有一宗来自内地。将广东港人与内地其他省市的港人区别对待,本来就不应该;对内地人来港实施检疫制度,也是多此一举。如果说,将“回港易”扩及所有内地港人是出於人道精神,那麼推动“来港易”,为内地人访港打开方便之门,则为振兴本地市道引入了源头活水。

  “疫苗气泡”是全球大趋势,因为这是促进经济内部循环及外部循环的基础。值得留意的是,特区政府虽然提供了放宽限聚路线图及大致时间表,但具体何时放宽有待下回分解,原因是疫情之下仍有一些变数。全港市民团结一致,加快接种,让香港早一日接近集体免疫的目标,恢复正常生活及通关就会早一日到来。

  2021-04-13

  Push ahead with the"vaccination bubble"scheme to promote internal and external circulations

  The SAR Government plans to gradually ease social distancing rules on the basis of a proposed "vaccination bubble" scheme. Among others, highlights of the plan include: to expand the Return2hk scheme at the end of this month, to relax the compulsory quarantine requirement for people arriving in Hong Kong from overseas and the Mainland next month, and to standardise the LeaveHomeSafe scheme. This is the light at the end of the tunnel seen by Hong Kong people trapped in this pandemic-rattled city for 16 months. It is inspiring.

  There has been no local confirmed (COVID-19) cases with unknown sources in Hong Kong for three consecutive days. The fourth wave of outbreak is easing, indicating Hong Kong now is a low-risk region. This creates favourable conditions for the SAR Government to gradually easing social distancing measures. Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor yesterday unveiled a series of policies. Of them, the outstanding highlight is to introduce a "vaccination bubble" scheme to peg easing social distancing measures to vaccination and the LeaveHomeSafe scheme. With this, restaurants and other businesses would get motivated to require their employees to get vaccinated and their customers to use the LeaveHomeSafe app. With this, vaccination becomes an essential requirement for one to get employed. With this, potential customers have to get vaccinated if they want to enjoy big-family gathering and eating out together as well as the convenience of walking in and out of various places.

  As a matter of fact, the vaccination rate in Hong Kong is barely satisfactory, as the vaccination coverage is less than 10 per cent of the population. This falls far behind the situation. Many citizens are hesitant to get vaccinated as there is no obvious "advantages" for them, so much so that they would rather wait and see. To boost citizens’enthusiasm for vaccination, the SAR Government must make the best of it, giving vaccinated people certain treatments which are not for the unvaccinated ones to enjoy, such as access to social places and events and permission to make outbound travels, which surely are attractive to citizens who are already "bored to death" .

  It is also a big step forward to require all customers to use the LeaveHomeSafe app and cancel the option of filling in paper forms. The LeaveHomeSafe in fact is a Hong Kong version of Health Code, which facilitates contact tracing of dine-in customers to restaurants where some infection cases are confirmed so as to cut off the transmission chain. It is because of this, the scheme has been stigmatised as so-called "invasion of privacy" by some people with ulterior motives. And while some people choose to fill in paper forms instead of using the app, they simply go through the motions by scribbling down some words. Some "yellow stores" even openly boycott the use of the LeaveHomeSafe app. As a result, the function of the LeaveHomeSafe scheme is greatly compromised. Right now, only about half of citizens have installed the app, which means another half of them have yet to download and install it. This is a big loophole in our fight against the virus. Canceling the option of filling in paper forms is a good thing, but random spot checks and law enforcement must be enhanced to deter some people from feigning compliance while acting in opposition.

  The Return2hk scheme will be expanded at the end of this month and compulsory quarantine requirement for people arriving in Hong Kong from overseas and the Mainland be relaxed next month. This shows that in the fight against the epidemic the SAR Government respects science and readily accepts good advice. The Mainland has long ago already achieved the dynamic goal of "zero" local infection. None of Hong Kong's imported infection cases in recent months is from the Mainland. It should not have, in the first place, treated Hong Kong people living in Guangdong province discriminately from those living in other parts of the Mainland. It is also a redundant move to impose quarantine on Mainland visitors to Hong Kong. If the expansion of the Return2hk scheme to include all Hong Kong people living in the Mainland is out of humanitarian considerations, then easing restrictions on people arriving in Hong Kong to open the door for Mainland visitors is to introduce in source water to revitalise the local market.

  Setting up a "vaccination bubble" is a major global trend, because it provides a foundation to promote internal and external circulations of the economy. It is noteworthy, however, that while the SAR Government had unveiled a roadmap and a rough timetable for easing social distancing rules, concrete moves have yet to be worked out as there are still some uncertain factors in the epidemic situation. If all Hong Kong people get united to speed up the process of vaccination to enable Hong Kong to achieve the goal of herd immunity sooner, then the day will arrived sooner when our life could restore to normal and border checkpoints be reopened.

  13 April 2021

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