Health & Environment

From Friday, children aged 5-11 years need to produce a vaccine pass in order to enter public premises such as restaurants, libraries and amusement parks. To meet the requirement, kids in the age range must have received at least one vaccine dose within the past three months, and those who received their first dose earlier must get a second jab. The second phase will begin on Nov. 30, when all children in this age group should have two injections. Parents can add their children’s vaccination records to their own “Leave Home Safe” mobile app. A new feature on the risk-exposure app allows users to upload additional vaccine passes for their companions, such as children and the elderly. “The adding procedure is a bit complicated,” said Sin Ka-yan, mother of a 9-year-old boy, “I cannot find the uploading access.” Some children were denied access to public places on Friday because they could not provide proof of vaccination. Joey Cheung, a staff member of a children's amusement arcade, said in some cases parents forgot to apply for their children’s vaccine passes. “I'm sorry, but we can’t let them in,” she said. Among some 400,000 children aged five to 11, only about 50,000 have not received a single dose of the Covid-19 vaccine, Secretary for the Civil Service, Ingrid Yeung Ho Poi-yan said last Thursday. However, Yeung said the change in vaccine pass requirements should not result in many unvaccinated children being barred from certain venues because some of them may have been previously infected and have to wait to get the vaccine. The Hong Kong Committee on Children's Rights said on Facebook that the vaccine pass policy will prevent some children from participating in activities in public places that are critical to their development. “We think that there can be some compromises, …

Hong Kong announced on Friday it will end the hotel quarantine for all arrivals from next Monday, a long awaited move after an over two-year period of tough pandemic control amid Covid-19. “We will give Hong Kong the greatest space to connect with the world, give society the greatest economic impetus, reduce inconvenience for those who come to Hong Kong and not retrace our steps,” Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu said at a press briefing on Friday. The new policy changes the quarantine period from “3+4” to “0+3”. The mandatory hotel isolation scheme is cancelled. Starting next Monday, inbound travellers will only need to undergo three-day medical surveillance in their home place or hotel. The pre-departure PCR test requirement will also be replaced by a rapid antigen test within 24 hours of departure. "I am very happy that the government has eventually changed the policy, and life is finally back to normal," said Xu Jilin, 22, a student from mainland China at the University of Hong Kong. He has already booked a flight to Thailand for the upcoming winter break after seeing the government's moves in lifting travel restrictions. Yoyo Li, 35, is planning for her next trip abroad right after the announcement was released. She just came back from a vacation in Japan early this month. “I couldn't resist travelling when the 3+4 policy was announced last month," she said. "Now that there is no longer a need for mandatory quarantine, I'm going to compensate for my lost vacation." Oversea travellers used to face a 21-day hotel quarantine - among the world’s longest- after they arrived in Hong Kong. The policy was in place for more than a year until this February. The quarantine period was once shortened to “3+4” days on August 12, for which visitors were required …

With Hong Kong's air a faint yellow haze for the last two weeks, the Environmental Protection Department reported that the city's Air Quality Health Index reached "serious" level four times in the past two weeks, a first for this year. The AQHI warning system was launched in 2013 to alert the public to potentially dangerous levels of four air pollutants: ozone, nitrogen dioxide, sulphur dioxide and particulate matter. Anything over a 10 on the AQHI scale is classified “serious”. "The major cause for the pollution of this time is the rising concentration of ozone pollutants trapped in the air," said Gao Meng, an Assistant Professor specializing in air quality modeling and climate change at Hong Kong Baptist University. He described the problem as a "long-lasting issue" for Hong Kong in autumn each year when ozone pollutants climb to their peak as the dry season begins. "This year's polluted weather came a little bit earlier than before," Gao added. "It is because the tropical storm Ma-on hit the city in late August, bringing a dry autumn with more sunshine.” On "serious" days, the EDP says people should minimize outdoor physical exertion and avoid staying outdoors, especially in areas with heavy traffic. Employers of outdoor workers are advised to assess the risk of outdoor work and take appropriate preventive measures to protect the employees' health. "My sore throat has been more and more serious recently because of the air pollution," Hauky Han, a student at Hong Kong Baptist University, said. "I feel like something is stuck in my throat, and I never felt this situation in Hong Kong before." "It is essential for the public, especially people who are vulnerable to certain air pollutants, including children and the elderly, to take a good job of protection amid such days, " Gao said. …