SAR has ‘highest standard’ controls to fight Omicron

Health Secretary Sophia Chan said on Sunday that the authorities are implementing control measures at the “highest standard” to keep the Omicron variant of the coronavirus out of Hong Kong.

Writing on her official blog, Professor Chan noted that the SAR had seen a sharp rise in arrivals from overseas for the Christmas and New Year holidays, at a time when the Omicron variant is spreading rapidly around the world.

She said 80 percent of people aged 80 and over here had yet to be inoculated, which she described as a relatively dangerous signal for Hong Kong.

The minister stressed that vaccines available in the SAR are still highly effective in preventing complications and death from Covid-19.

She said that with the new variant bearing down on the SAR, it’s particularly important for high-risk groups, such as airport workers, air crew and staff at quarantine hotels, to get a booster jab.