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Hong Kong’s 38-day streak without an untraceable Covid-19 case has ended, with a 35-year-old male policeman confirmed to have been infected today. The Centre for Health Protection said a sample of the officer’s saliva had tested positive, but the result of another test conducted after he was admitted to hospital was negative.    However, as a precautionary move, about 40 to 50 of the officer’s close contacts were being quarantined and further tests would be conducted to confirm if he was really infected, said officials. Meanwhile, Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor has defended the government’s warning that those who have been inoculated against the virus may not be allowed to enter restaurants or entertainment venues if another wave of infection hits Hong Kong. The idea was not meant to punish those who had not been vaccinated, but aimed at protecting public health, she said before today’s Executive Council meeting.  A high vaccination rate would give us a “vaccine barrier” if we were unfortunately hit by a fifth wave of infection, she said. If the ideal vaccination rate could be achieved by the end of August, then those measures would not be needed, she said. Heeding a call from the government, more and more companies are providing different kinds of incentives to encourage people to get vaccinated, including cash handouts, air tickets, meal coupons, theme park tickets and anti-epidemic supplies. The most eye-catching reward is a $10.8 million apartment donated by the Ng Teng Fong Charitable Foundation, a subsidiary company of the Hong Kong Sino Group and the Chinese Estates Holdings Limited.  Lucy Lang, a university student, said the reward was attractive. “Hong Kong is known for its high housing prices. If you can get a flat, it will reduce a lot of burden on your life after graduation,” she said.  …

Mandatory masking because of the COVID-19 pandemic has discouraged some young people from smoking in public, but it has also prompted others to smoke more at home. That is what The Young Reporter found after talking to a number of young people on the World No Tobacco Day 2021 today.  Even though the theme of the United Nations initiative this year is “Commit to quit”, it appears not too many university students have made a commitment to do so. A 22-year-old university student who would only be identified as Mr Wong said he had to reduce smoking since the outbreak of the pandemic because he could not smoke on the streets, worrying that he might be caught by police for not wearing a mask. Due to the switch to online learning, he said he had few opportunities to go out and had been smoking less as he did not want to subject his family members to the risk of second-hand smoke. However, for students who live on their own, the pandemic has meant smoking more. Jia Fengyuan, a 20-year-old student who lives off-campus, said he had been smoking more because he was spending more time at home. “Usually smoking is banned on the campus, but I can switch off the camera for a while and have a cigarette when I have online classes at home,” said Jia, who added that his roommates did not mind him smoking. Another 20-year-old student from the mainland, who would only be identified by his surname of Luo, also said he had been smoking since arriving in Hong Kong during the pandemic, as he had more time staying alone indoors due to online learning and didn't need to worry about his family being affected by second-hand smoking. In his message marking the World No Tobacco …

Digital devices for home fitness may break down fitness barriers for some, but they also may exacerbate global inequalities in healthy and physical activities, according to a WHO webinar today. The fitness industry saw revenues drop 58% in the US during the pandemic, and UK gyms lost US$4.3 billion last year. Meanwhile, the market for global fitness apps grew 9.34% in 2020, according to market researcher Technavio.   “While doing exercise at home in your comfortable living room, you can build up that confidence, build up that experience,” Hugo Braam, the co-founder and CEO of Vituragym, a consumer health and fitness app, said on the webinar.  Steven Ward, chief transformation officer of the home-fitness brand Go Fit, said technology can democratize services to a broader range of society. But not everyone has access to the electronic devices needed for at-home fitness technology, Benjamin Uzokwe, a gym trainer from the UK, said on the webinar.  “I have access to a laptop or to a phone, but like a lot of children from underprivileged areas they don’t,” he said.  The fact that different media platforms among countries and regions means there is no one global fitness app, Jürgen Steinacker, professor for sports and rehabilitation medicine from University Hospital Ulm, said in the webinar. “We’re in that dilemma...digital provides such great solutions and at the same time, always is going to have that risk of excluding some people as well,” said Amanda Harding, who moderated the talk. “We need to act like a public health solution, rather than traditional fitness, in order to appeal to non-traditional fitness users to break down barriers and to become more inclusive,” Mr Ward said. The webinar is the first of a series of eight on health and fitness organized by the WHO.