Hopes raised on reopening border

Reopening the border with the mainland will happen when the number of Covid-19 infections drop to single or low-double digits daily, Secretary for Transport and Housing Frank Chan Fan says.

This came as Hong Kong yesterday recorded only 19 cases - all local and the lowest tally since November 19.

Speaking in the Legislative Council, Chan said vaccinations will accelerate the reopening of the border.

But pro-establishment legislators urged him to act immediately so cross-border drivers can get mainland-made vaccines at Shenzhen crossing points so they can be waived from daily virus tests.

"We have been communicating with mainland authorities to make sure cross-border workers are safe and the daily lives in Hong Kong are not affected," Chan responded. But he refused to disclose details of talks with mainland officials, saying only that he will consider prioritizing vaccinations for cross-border drivers and workers in essential jobs.

Chan also said it was not necessary to wait for the number of confirmed cases to reach zero before resuming customs procedures.

Hong Kong has been negotiating with mainland and Macau authorities about launching a health code so those who test negative for the virus can cross without quarantine.

The initial plan was to launch the health code last summer, but it fell through when the third wave emerged in early July and lasted until September in Hong Kong.

Then the number of daily cases remained at a dozen or single-digits for more than a month.

The mainland was said to be seeking 14 days of zero infections before reopening borders, and then the fourth wave hit Hong Kong in November.

On the 19 new cases, Chuang Shuk-kwan of the Centre for Health Protection said seven were from unknown sources and their residential buildings have been added to mandatory test lists.

They are Mandarin Court on Shanghai Street and 9-15 Tung Choi Street in Mong Kok, Fu Yip Building on Station Lane in Hung Hom, Lei Wen Court on Haven Street in Causeway Bay, Carno Mansion on Queen's Road Central, Sky Scraper on Tin Hau Temple Road in North Point, and Mei Chun Court at South Horizons in Ap Lei Chau.

Chuang warned that even though daily infections were falling the ratio of untraceable source cases remains high. "These cases live in various districts and each case can spread," she said. "I don't think the current situation is completely under control."

One unknown source case involves a nurse working on the 16th floor of Virtus Medical Tower in Central. The 16th floor was being closed for 14 days for disinfection and five colleagues sent into quarantine.

Chuang said another case is a 66-year-old man who lived alone in Sheung Shui. He was found dead last Friday, and postmortem tests were positive for Covid-19.

The man went to the Shek Wu Hui Jockey Club out-patient clinic on January 26 and submitted a deep-throat saliva sample next day. Lab staff found his sample had leaked as he did not seal the lid properly and tried unsuccessfully to contact him last Thursday.

The man's family also lost contact with him and called police on Friday. And when officers broke into his home they found him dead.

Chuang said it was not known who passed the virus to him.

On group outbreaks, clusters surrounding clothing chain Uniqlo's Langham Place branch, the construction site for the airport's third runway and Sham Shui Po's Salvation Army Nam Shan residence for seniors have each seen one more case.

The SAR tally yesterday stood at 10,531 with 185 deaths. About 20 preliminary positive cases are pending confirmation.