Zero Covid-19 cases again for Hong Kong

It’s the first time since last June that the city has booked consecutive days without any local or imported infections of the coronavirus.

But a microbiology professor at the Chinese University, Christopher Lai, has warned Hongkongers against complacency, saying they will need to face either the virus or get vaccinated at some point.

Speaking on RTHK’s Backchat programme, Lai told listeners that vaccinations provide protection against severe infection.

“We should not compare the vaccine safety with not having the vaccine at all,” Lai said. “We should compare the vaccine safety against the complications and side effects of having a Covid infection.”

Lai said the pandemic is continuing to evolve and it’s unlikely that the world will be free of Covid-19.

“At the end of the day, we will have to face the Covid virus if we are not vaccinated. Maybe, if our pandemic control measures are good, we may be able to wait for a few years… but then the economy may not be able to tolerate it,” the professor said.

“One way or another, you have to face the Covid virus or the Covid vaccine – so which is the better option?”

Since the outbreak of Covid-19, Hong Kong has reported 11,836 cases and 210 related deaths.