Hong Kong, July 11 (BNA): Hong Kong authorities are considering implementing a health law system in the city that would restrict the movements of those infected with the coronavirus and those abroad, with infections rising again, the Associated Press (AP) reported.
The system is similar to that of mainland China, with the red symbol completely restricting a person’s movement, the yellow symbol being partial restriction, and the green symbol meaning freedom of movement. The colors will appear in the LeaHomeSafe Hong Kong vulnerability app.
Hong Kong’s chief of health said on Monday that if such a system were implemented, real name registration would be required and those who tested positive for COVID-19 would be given a red code to “identify the infected” and prevent them from interacting. with the community.
The authorities are also considering reducing the current seven-day hotel quarantine for incoming travelers, and moving part of it to home isolation and health monitoring.
These travelers may be issued yellow health codes, and they will not be allowed to remove their masks or enter high-risk buildings such as hospitals and nursing homes.
“We hope to be able to enforce home quarantine in a more effective way and try to prevent these people from causing community outbreaks,” Lu said.
From Friday, electronic bracelets will also be issued to all those who have obtained a home isolation order to ensure they remain in quarantine.
The city’s health law measures are being considered amid a surge in COVID-19 cases after the city battled its fifth and worst outbreak, which has infected more than a million people and killed more than 9,000.
Hong Kong recorded more than 2,800 cases on Monday, as well as seven deaths.
Low dismissed concerns that the measures would violate privacy, saying the real-name registration required for the health app is to aid law enforcement and not to restrict the freedoms of those unaffected.
“I would say we are going to use technology to develop an accurate strategy,” he said. This is to reduce cost in our fight against the pandemic and to maximize effectiveness.
In China, local media reported that a health code system was used to restrict the movements of people who were planning to join a protest in China’s Henan province last month after they found their bank accounts frozen in a rural bank. The move sparked widespread criticism over its misuse.
AOQ