“If people refuse to be vaccinated for reasons that are not health-related, I do not think a responsible government should tolerate it,” Hong Kong political leader Carrie Lam said in a statement on Monday.
In an attempt to increase the city – state’s vaccination rate, Lam has introduced measures to make vaccination compulsory for four occupational groups: civil servants, health workers, care workers and teachers.
The proportion vaccinated in these sectors varies from 70 per cent among civil servants to only 47 per cent among teachers.
Those who refuse to be vaccinated must be tested twice a week and pay the cost out of their own pocket, unless they have a valid medical reason for not taking the vaccine.
Plenty of vaccines
Hong Kong is one of the few places in the world that has secured plenty of supplies of the corona vaccine, but so far public recordings have been deficient.
After six months, only 36 percent of the city’s 7.5 million inhabitants have been fully vaccinated, while 48 percent have received only one vaccine dose.
The number of infections in the city-state has remained low as Hong Kong has been closed to non-residents for almost 18 months, and all arrivals must go through a long hotel quarantine.
So far, around 12,000 cases of infection have been registered in Hong Kong, and 200 corona-related deaths, far fewer than in many other countries. And in the last 50 days, no new cases of infection have been registered.
Poor finances and mistrust
But the authorities’ strict corona strategy only leads to tough financial losses for the city-state, which has long been a hub for transport in Asia.
The situation has led to increased distrust of the authorities, who have cracked down hard on opponents of the government, which has exacerbated the situation.
The measure comes just two days after the authorities broke off all cooperation with the Hong Kong Education Association on the basis of the organization’s support for the democracy movement in the city-state. Health workers also played an important role during the protests, which began in 2019.
Public gatherings and demonstrations have been banned in Hong Kong since the start of the pandemic.
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