Hong Kong study says reopening international travel to have little impact on COVID transmission

HONG KONG, March 22 (Reuters) – The full reopening of international travel in Hong Kong will have “small marginal effects” on the unfold of COVID-19, an educational review explained on Tuesday, as the economic hub begins to unwind rigid coronavirus steps.

The research, titled “Forward planning, immediately after HK’s fifth wave of Omicron BA.2”, expects a sixth wave to commence in June as steps to control the distribute of the disease are calm in the months in advance and the town improves vaccination costs.

As prolonged as arrivals are fully vaccinated and exam destructive on boarding a flight to the Chinese-dominated territory, they would have a negligible influence, according to industry experts from the College of Hong Kong, the Entire world Health and fitness Group and the Laboratory of Info Discovery for Health and fitness.

The scientists instructed the very best method for the Hong Kong govt going ahead was a “controlled transition … faster fairly than later” to residing with the ailment in modern society.

Authorities in Hong Kong and China have trapped to “dynamic zero” policy, trying to find to control outbreaks as soon as they take place by extensive make contact with tracing, tests and isolation.

Having said that, considering that February the previous British colony has struggled to cope as infections and fatalities soared.

Chief Carrie Lam said on Monday that Hong Kong would ease some social-distancing measures in April, including lifting a ban on flights from 9 countries, right after a backlash more than the city’s stringent measures at a time when the rest of the earth was shifting to residing with the virus.

Because the pandemic started in 2020, Hong Kong has recorded far more than 1 million infections and a lot more than 6,000 deaths – most of them in the earlier month. Additional than 50 {32bc5e747b31d501df756e0d52c4fc33c2ecc33869222042bcd2be76582ed298} of Hong Kong’s inhabitants has presently been infected, scientists mentioned.

Well being authorities described 14,152 new coronavirus bacterial infections on Tuesday and 245 fatalities.

The research reported a changeover toward allowing the ailment to be endemic would expose the 40{32bc5e747b31d501df756e0d52c4fc33c2ecc33869222042bcd2be76582ed298} or so of the populace who are not but infected in a controlled way, which could create “hybrid immunity” by way of a mix of pure infection and vaccinations.

At least 90{32bc5e747b31d501df756e0d52c4fc33c2ecc33869222042bcd2be76582ed298} of individuals aged over 70 would will need to have at minimum two vaccination doses, up from about 70{32bc5e747b31d501df756e0d52c4fc33c2ecc33869222042bcd2be76582ed298} now, it reported.

On the assumption that social-distancing measures are totally calm by June 1, a sixth wave of the disorder would arise and past for two months.

By June 30, the cumulative range of bacterial infections would be about 6.7 million, with the cumulative number of fatalities up to 10,882.

Writing by Farah Learn Modifying by Neil Fullick

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Concepts.