New Covid measures to be announced today: CE

Chief Executive Carrie Lam said on Tuesday that the government is poised to further strengthen anti-epidemic measures, as she defended the government’s “dynamic clearance” strategy for tackling Covid outbreaks.

Her office says she will meet the media at 3.30pm. The Executive Council met this morning to discuss the proposals.

Lam earlier said the government needs to maintain consistency in its anti-epidemic policies, saying “dynamic clearance” is still the best option for Hong Kong’s actual situation.

She said Hong Kong continues to face a relatively low vaccination rate, especially among the elderly population.

The vaccination rate for people aged 70 and above is less than 50 percent, she said, representing around half a million people.

“Some say the ‘dynamic clearance’ strategy comes at a great economic and social price, but I would like to make it clear, people’s lives and health, and for the local medical system not to collapse, these are more in line with Hong Kong’s public interest,” Lam said before the weekly Executive Council meeting.

Asked whether the CE election next month will have to be postponed, Lam said she sees no such need right now.

“Everyone knows, the CE poll is a small election in scale, it involves less than 1,500 voters,” she said, adding that it will be far easier to implement prevention and control measures for this election compared to a poll involving millions of voters.