Rules set for vaccine pass

The much talked-about vaccine pass requiring people to show proof of inoculation to enter various premises such as restaurants will kick off on Thursday, with the LeaveHomeSafe app - if its user is not vaccinated - triggering a beeping sound when checked, officials have said.

Individuals need to use the app when entering malls, supermarkets, department stores and wet markets, with law enforcers making random checks if the shoppers are properly vaccinated.

Officials reassured users that personal data in the app will not be leaked, adding these will be encrypted and then deleted after 31 days.

In a news briefing yesterday, deputy secretary for food and health Kevin Choi said restaurants and clubhouses will adopt an "active checking" method - meaning people visiting these venues will have to show their vaccination records or doctors' vaccine exemption certificate to staff for scanning.

A scanning app used by restaurant and clubhouse staff will make different sounds when checking jab records and doctors' certificates for people who are exempted from the vaccine pass due to medical reasons, deputy government chief information officer Tony Wong Chi-kwong said.

Wong said the scanner will make a beeping sound when checking unvaccinated people's LeaveHomeSafe app.

As for other premises, including supermarkets and malls, people do not have to automatically show their vaccination record to staff and are only required to carry it with them.

They do not have to show proof of inoculation unless they are asked to do so by law enforcers, Choi said, adding: "It's just like carrying your HK ID card with you."

Choi said the government decided to use two checking methods based on the nature and risk of the premises. He noted: "In restaurants, we see there is a higher risk of infection and transmission, so we have to ensure that [diners' jab] records must be actively checked," Choi said.

He said the government prefers active checking but also knows that some premises will face operational issues to ensure all visitors are checked.

"The downside is, of course, our tracking capabilities will be a bit hampered. Perhaps we need to consider whether we should do active checking later on. But as of now we believe passive checking for these premises is the right way," Choi said.

And the "vaccine information in the scanner app [used by] operators is encrypted and personal data like names and ID numbers [would become] scrambled data.

"It will keep the information only for 31 days and then the date will be automatically erased."

Wong said restaurant operators have no access to clients' vaccination data, which can only be unlocked by the Centre for Health Protection for contact-tracing purposes.

Earlier yesterday, Hong Kong Medical Association president Gabriel Choi Kin said the threshold for getting a vaccination exemption from doctors is higher now.

Previously, cancer patients and those with immune system disorders can be exempted from getting jabbed. But doctors can now only issue certificates to some of them, especially those who have not taken medications.

Patients with uncontrolled chronic diseases, those who are allergic to vaccine and pregnant women with a history of multiple miscarriages are still allowed to skip vaccination.

wallis.wang@singtaonewscorp.com