The Government today announced it will maintain the social distancing measures in place for 14 days until December 22, adding it is considering extending the scope of a vaccine bubble to encourage more citizens to get vaccinated.

The Food & Health Bureau said COVID-19 mutant strains including the latest Omicron are spreading rapidly around the world.

The bureau noted that Hong Kong must stay vigilant and adopt stringent epidemic control measures to follow through on the anti-epidemic strategy of guarding against the importation of cases and the resurgence of domestic infections in order to attain the goal of dynamic zero infection.

The Government yesterday announced the arrangement for extending the requirement of using the LeaveHomeSafe mobile app to all premises regulated under the Prevention & Control of Disease (Requirements & Directions) (Business & Premises) Regulation. The modes of operation of catering business have been adjusted accordingly.

When considering the extension of a vaccine bubble, the Government will also take into account exemption arrangements such as allowing individuals who are not eligible for vaccination or have been assessed by a medical practitioner to be medically unfit for vaccination to enter the premises. It will consider further relaxing the restrictions for premises under the vaccine bubble taking into consideration the need for epidemic control.

Click here for the latest measures.