Residents jabbed overseas queue for provisional vaccine passes

Hundreds of people who received Covid-19 jabs overseas or in the mainland were queuing outside post offices yesterday to apply for a provisional vaccine pass that will allow them to enter various regulated premises so long as they have had two shots.

The government last night said it will reactivate the online declaration platform for overseas vaccination records later but people can still visit post offices for such purpose.

Also, Hongkong Post has deployed more staff, with the quota in post offices increased from 1,200 to 2,400 yesterday.

It will further increase to 3,000 a day next week.

Overseas vaccination records carried by arrivals are recognized by authorities, but people cannot use the records for the SAR's vaccine pass scheme.

That means they are not allowed into premises open to the public including restaurants and supermarkets.

From yesterday, inbound travelers are being issued with a vaccination record QR code and a provisional vaccine pass for local use at border control points.

As for arrivals who received Covid-19 shots in other regions and arrived in the SAR before yesterday, they can declare their vaccination records and apply for a provisional vaccine pass at any of 18 designated post offices.

The provisional vaccine pass is valid for 180 days from the date of arrival. People can use them as a substitute for local vaccination records to enter public premises under the vaccine pass arrangement.

Authorities have also updated the LeaveHomeSafe mobile application so that arrivals can save the provisional vaccine pass on the mobile app.

That meant many people who arrived in Hong Kong on or before Wednesday were rushing to post offices after the launch of the second phase of vaccine pass. That requires people to have had two jabs before they can enter public premises, though they may have received only one dose in the SAR.

The problem that surfaced with the rush to the post offices, however, is that there is a quota for applications for provisional vaccine passes. There were hundreds of people queuing outside the Wan Chai Post Office, but it had a quota of just 100. And the quota tickets had gone soon after the post office opened at 9.30am.

Among the disappointed people in the queue was a foreign teacher, Robert, who said he had two Sinopharm jabs in Shanghai in February last year and received a booster in Hong Kong in December. But he failed to make it to the quota.

"I can't work," he said. "I should have a class right now, but I have to miss that first class and will also my second class. I can't go into the building, so now I will have to teach from home using Zoom."

A woman in her 70s, Ma, received two jabs in Australia and a booster shot in Hong Kong. She had visited the post office for two days but failed to secure a quota ticket.

"It's not only me - many people have said they cannot get tickets," she said. "I have difficulties walking and my legs were shaking while waiting in the queue.

"The arrangements shouldn't be like this," she added. "We should be allowed to make applications online."

Australian resident Hugo said he finally filed his application yesterday after going to the post office for three days in a row.

"I came to the office at around 12pm the first time and there was no quota left," he explained.

"I failed to get a ticket again when I came here at 9am on Wednesday. I came here at 7am today and finally made it.

"I haven't entered any restaurant since coming to Hong Kong and have bought only take-out food."

Mainland citizen Gu criticized the official arrangement as "outdated" and also said authorities should allow applicants to register online so that they would not have to stand in a queue for a long time.

At least nine legislators including Gary Zhang Xinyu, Kitson Yang Wing-kit, Wendy Hong Wen and Lau Chi-pang agreed with that argument.

They sent letters to Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor, health secretary Sophia Chan Siu-chee and IT secretary Alfred Sit Wing-hang to urge them to allow people to declare their overseas vaccination records online.