香港第五波新冠疫情逐步受控，特區政府自四月下旬分階段調整各項限制措施，推動社會有序恢復正常運作。今日（28日）香港特區行政長官林鄭月娥在社交平台上發文，總結第五波疫情至今特區政府在各方面的工作成果。林鄭月娥提醒市民，復常之路來之不易，不應掉以輕心，須繼續支持抗疫工作，以最小代價實現最大防控效果，儘量減少疫情對社會經濟發展的影響。

文｜香港特區行政長官 林鄭月娥

在中央的全力支援下，香港特別行政區政府全面提升了本地的抗疫能力，加上社會各界的通力合作，本港第五波新冠疫情逐步受控，陽性檢測個案數字自3月初達峰後呈持續下降趨勢，復活節假期後亦無出現明顯反彈，讓特區政府可如期自4月下旬分階段調整各項限制措施，推動社會有序回復正常運作。縱然疫情回穩，為與內地“通關”創造條件，特區政府定當堅持“外防輸入、內防反彈”的策略，竭力以最小代價實現最大防控效果，儘量減少疫情對社會經濟發展的影響。

陽性個案數字持續下降

本港第五波疫情暴發至今，共錄得1,190,437宗陽性檢測個案，當中包括9,069宗死亡個案。陽性檢測個案的單日呈報數字曾在3月初一度高達70,000多宗，隨後持續下降，自3月26日起跌至四位數，自4月15日起跌至三位數，到近日錄得300至400宗。此外，各項輔助監測疫情的指標，即污水監測病毒量、“圍封強檢”陽性比率和社區檢測陽性比率均呈向下趨勢。長者在這波疫情所受影響尤深。累計死亡個案的年齡中位數是86歲，超過九成的個案均為65歲或以上的長者。超過五成為居於院舍的人士；超過九成的個案有已知長期病患情況；超過七成沒有接種任何新冠疫苗。

繼續落實“三減”、“三重”、“一優先”策略

過去一個月，由我擔任主席的跨部門督導委員會暨指揮中心除繼續密切監測疫情外，亦按內地專家意見全面落實“三減”、“三重”、“一優先”的策略，即減少感染、減少重症、減少死亡，以及就重點人群、重點機構和重點區域採取更精準、有力及具針對性的措施，並把支援長者列為優先工作。

特區政府痛定思痛，為了加強保護長者，聯同醫院管理局以至社會各界在過去數月努力不懈，用好中央支持，結合中西醫藥治療，並成立由勞工及福利局常任秘書長領導的工作小組，全面理順照顧院舍長者的防疫措施。其中在4月初投入服務、位處啟德郵輪碼頭可提供約1,200張病床的長者暫託中心，更匯集了兩所大學的中西醫學科、兩間非政府福利機構、一個私營醫療集團的醫療人員和社會福利署直接招聘的內地照顧員，全方位照顧確診長者，締造一個醫社、公私營合作的極佳例子，提升收治及救治病人的能力。

一連三日全城自我快測行動

憑藉中央在供港醫療物資的大力支持，特區政府在4月首周順利向全港270多萬個家庭派發300萬份“防疫服務包”，其後在4月8日至10日發起“全城自我快測”行動，呼籲全港市民一連三日每天善用“防疫服務包”內的快速抗原測試劑進行快測，並就陽性結果上報衞生防護中心的網上申報系統。

特區政府感謝市民積極響應，是次行動整體上達致三個目的，即更好掌握本地感染情況、從社區揪出更多隱性傳播鏈，從而安排適切隔離和治療，以及讓市民更習慣應用快速抗原測試，加強防疫意識。

由於長者接種疫苗比率仍不理想，為加強推動長者恆常自我監察身體狀況，從而一旦感染後便可及早獲得適切治療，特區政府自4月初向所有70歲或以上長者於社區檢測中心及流動採樣站提供免費核酸檢測服務，並由4月19日起至5月底通過不同途徑（包括地區康健中心及地區康健站、長者健康中心等）向長者免費派發快速抗原測試套裝。

逐步恢復常態

隨着本地社區感染情況趨緩，特區政府如期落實我在3月21日公布的各項措施，在妥善管控風險的前提下，逐步有序恢復社會及經濟活動：

（a）學校自4月19日起分階段恢復面授課堂。為加強保障校園衞生和師生健康，除要求校方做足防護措施外，特區政府亦在現階段要求學校全體教職員和學生須每天完成快速抗原測試，取得陰性結果才可回校；

（b）香港中學文憑考試如期在4月22日開考。為確保今年為數共約50,000名考生在安全環境下安心應考，特區政府聯同香港考試及評核局和學界加強預防措施，並把考試時間表壓縮至三星期；在要求所有考生和考務人員每天考試前進行快速抗原測試、取得陰性結果方可進入一般試場的同時，特區政府在竹篙灣社區隔離設施設立特別試場，供正接受強制檢疫及確診的考生應考；

（c）首階段放寬社交距離措施自4月21日起落實，以回應市民和各行各業的殷切訴求。首階段包括容許餐飲處所恢復晚市堂食（另要求員工每三天進行一次快速抗原測試）；重開大部分早前關閉的處所，即室內及戶外體育處所、健身中心、美容院及按摩院、公眾娛樂場所（包括電影院）、遊樂場所、遊戲機中心、活動場所及宗教處所；容許恢復不超過30人的本地遊（如所有遊客在出團當天先進行快速抗原測試，人數限制可放寬至100人）；調整在公眾地方進行聚集的人數上限由兩人改為四人，並解除早前禁止涉及兩戶以上的人士在私人地方進行多戶聚集的規定；

（d）由4月1日起撤銷對九個國家的地區性航班“熔斷機制”，並在實行“外防輸入”措施的前提下，理順曾在任何海外地區逗留的香港居民的登機、檢疫及檢測安排；以及宣布由5月1日起容許非香港居民從海外地區入境香港，並適度調整個別航線“熔斷機制”。

疫苗接種的最新情況

提升疫苗接種率仍是特區政府抗疫的重要手段。雖然12歲或以上市民的第一針接種率已超過九成、第二針接種率亦將達九成，但現時接種了第一劑疫苗的3至11歲群組和70歲或以上人士的比率，分別只為六成多和七成多，遠低於其他年齡組別。特區政府會繼續重點推動“一長一幼”儘早接種疫苗，包括在4月26日正式開展“疫苗到戶接種服務”，派出外展醫護團隊上門為已登記的70歲或以上未曾接種疫苗的長者和因疾病或殘疾而行動不便的人士接種疫苗；展開新一階段院舍疫苗接種工作，務求儘快把現在的首針七成多比率推高至九成；加強為學童提供多元化、便利的疫苗接種途徑；以及嚴格推行“疫苗通行證”，即4月底要求進入相關處所人士要已接種兩劑疫苗，而到5月底則提高至三劑。 

其他主要防控疫情及相關措施按時序列於下表：

支援企業回復元氣

保障員工就業

自特區政府在3月18日公布“2022保就業”計劃的初步框架後，不少立法會議員和相關業界表示大力支持，但也同時提出額外訴求。在聆聽各方意見後，我在4月7日公布“2022保就業”計劃完善版，引入優化措施，包括：取消合資格獲取工資補貼的僱員的月薪上限；容許僱主選擇以“2020保就業”計劃數據或2021 年第四季實際聘用人數為合資格獲取工資補貼的僱員人數上限；容許受第五波疫情影響較微的行業也可申請工資補貼，但以100名員工為限（由“剔除名單”，修訂為“受限名單”）；涵蓋兼職員工、臨時員工，以及有強積金戶口的自僱人士和65歲或以上僱員。隨着立法會財務委員會在4月12日通過430億元撥款，計劃將由4月29日起接受申請。 

此外，屬第六輪“防疫抗疫基金”下的“臨時失業支援”計劃，至4月12日截止申請日共收到超過470,000個申請，至今計劃已向101,000名合資格人士發放一筆過10,000元的補貼。

復常之路來之不易

社會須繼續支持抗疫工作

本港第五波新冠疫情暴發至今歷時四個多月，從2、3月的驚濤駭浪到4月的曙光漸露，確是一段艱辛的旅程。然而，面對新冠疫情在全球肆虐未見明顯息止，加上本港確診個案每日仍有數百宗，特區政府絕不鬆懈，市民亦不應掉以輕心，讓我們繼續用好中央支持，貫徹落實“早發現、早隔離、早治療”的措施，進一步穩控疫情，推動社會有序復常，確保市民生命安全和身體健康，確保社會大局穩定，並重振香港作為連通海內外的重要橋樑角色和樞紐地位。

With Epidemic under Control comes Path towards Normalcy

Carrie Lam 

Chief Executive, Hong Kong S.A.R.

Leveraging the full support of the Central Government, the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) has enhanced its anti-epidemic capability on all fronts. This, together with the full co-operation of various sectors in society, has led to gradual stabilisation of the fifth wave of the epidemic in Hong Kong.  The number of cases tested positive for COVID-19 has been trending downward continuously after reaching the peak in early March with no significant resurgence observed after the Easter holidays, enabling the HKSAR Government to adjust various restrictive measures in phases from late April as planned to get society back to normal in an orderly manner.  Although the epidemic situation continues to stabilise, in order to create conditions for the resumption of people flow with the Mainland, the HKSAR Government will steadfastly take forward the strategies of “guarding against the importation of cases and the resurgence of domestic infections” to achieve the greatest anti-epidemic effect at the smallest cost while minimising the impact of the epidemic on Hong Kong’s social and economic development.

Epidemic development

Since the outbreak of the fifth wave of the epidemic, we have recorded 1,190,437 cases tested positive for COVID-19 (including 9,069 deaths).

The number of daily reported positive cases reached a peak of some 70,000 in early March and trended downward continuously afterwards.

The daily caseload dropped to a four-digit number from March 26 and further to a three-digit number from April 15, with 300 to 400 cases recorded daily these days. A downward trend was also observed in other monitoring indicators such as the viral load in sewage surveillance tests, the percentage of positive cases found in restriction-testing declaration operations and the percentage of positive cases in tests conducted at the community level.

Elderly persons have been particularly hard hit by this wave of the epidemic. Among the death cases reported thus far, the median age is 86. Over 90% of the cases are people aged 65 or above. Over 50% are residential care home residents; over 90% are patients with known chronic diseases; and over 70% have not received any COVID-19 vaccine.

Continuing with the strategy of “three reductions, three focuses and one priority”

In the past month, the inter-departmental Steering Committee cum Command Centre chaired by me continued to closely monitor the epidemic development and, on the advice of the Mainland experts, implement in a full-fledged manner the strategy of “three reductions, three focuses and one priority”, namely reducing infections, severe cases and deaths, adopting more precise, stronger and more targeted measures on certain groups of people, premises and areas, and according priority to supporting the elderly.

Having learnt from the painful experience, the HKSAR Government, together with the Hospital Authority and various sectors of the community, worked doubly hard over the past few months to make good use of the Central Government’s support and integrate Chinese and Western medicines in treatment in order to strengthen protection for the elderly. A dedicated task force led by the Permanent Secretary for Labour and Welfare was set up to rationalise the implementation of anti-epidemic measures to protect residents at elderly care homes. As a case in point, the holding centre located at the Kai Tak Cruise Terminal came into service in early April to provide some 1,200 beds for the elderly. Healthcare workers from the Western and Chinese medicine disciplines of two universities, two non-governmental welfare organisations and a private healthcare group, as well as Mainland care workers employed directly by the Social Welfare Department, are working in concert to provide comprehensive care for the infected elderly at the centre. This is an excellent example of medical-social collaboration and public-private partnership to enhance the capability in the admission and treatment of patients. 

Three-day city-wide rapid antigen test (RAT) exercise

With the strong support of the Central Government in medical supplies, the HKSAR Government successfully distributed 3 million anti-epidemic service bags to more than 2.7 million households in Hong Kong in the first week of April. Later on, it initiated a three-day city-wide RAT exercise, calling on members of the public to conduct daily tests for three consecutive days from April 8 to 10 using the RAT kits in the anti-epidemic service bags and report positive results to the online declaration system of the Centre for Health Protection.  With favourable response from the public, the exercise has largely achieved its three objectives, namely having a better grasp of the local infection situation, identifying in the community more silent transmission chains to arrange for those infected appropriate isolation and treatment, and enabling the public to familiarise themselves with the use of RATs so as to raise their anti-epidemic awareness. 

As the vaccination rate of the elderly has yet to reach a satisfactory level, it is necessary to further encourage the elderly to monitor their own health condition regularly such that early appropriate treatment can be arranged for them once they are found to be infected.  The HKSAR Government has provided free COVID-19 nucleic acid testing service for all the elderly aged 70 or above at the community testing centres and mobile specimen collection stations since early April, and distributed free RAT kits to the elderly through various channels (including District Health Centres, District Health Centre Expresses and Elderly Health Centres) since April 19 until the end of May. 

Return to normalcy gradually

With the local infection situation having stabilised, the HKSAR Government has proceeded to implement the various measures announced by me on March 21 as planned to resume social and economic activities in a gradual, orderly and risk-controlled manner: 

(a) schools resumed face-to-face classes in phases from April 19. In order to keep the school environment hygienic and better safeguard the health of teachers and students, besides requiring schools to take adequate protective measures, the HKSAR Government for the time being also requires all teachers, school staff and students to conduct an RAT every day and allow only those with a negative result to go to school;

(b) this year’s Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education Examination commenced on April 22 as scheduled. To ensure that the 50 000-odd candidates can take the examination in a safe environment, the HKSAR Government, jointly with the Hong Kong Examinations and Assessment Authority and the school sector, has strengthened precautionary measures and compressed the examination timetable to three weeks.  All candidates and examination personnel are required to conduct an RAT before the examination every day and only those with a negative result can enter the normal examination centres. The HKSAR Government has also set up a special examination centre at the Penny’s Bay Community Isolation Facility for candidates undergoing compulsory quarantine and candidates confirmed with COVID-19 to sit for the examination;

(c) the first-phase relaxation of the social distancing measures started on April 21 meeting the keen demand of members of the public and various trade sectors. Dinnertime dine-in services are allowed to resume at catering premises (and staff members are required to conduct an RAT every three days); most previously closed premises (i.e. indoor and outdoor venues of sports premises, fitness centres, beauty parlours and massage establishments, places of public entertainment (including cinemas), places of amusement, amusement game centres, event premises and religious premises) are allowed to re-open; local group tours with no more than 30 persons are allowed to resume (and if all tour participants have conducted an RAT before tour activities commence on the day, the number of participants allowed will be relaxed to 100); the number of persons allowed in group gatherings in public places is raised from two to four; and the restriction on multi-household gathering (i.e. prohibition of gatherings in private places involving more than two households) is lifted; and 

(d) the place-specific flight suspension mechanism for nine countries was lifted with effect from April 1. While the boarding, quarantine and testing arrangements for Hong Kong residents (HKRs) who have stayed in overseas places have been rationalised on the premise of continuously guarding against importation of cases, the HKSAR Government has announced that non-HKRs be allowed to enter Hong Kong from overseas places and that the route-specific flight suspension mechanism be suitably adjusted with effect from May 1.

Latest vaccination situation

Boosting the vaccination rate remains one of the important means for the HKSAR Government to fight the virus. Over 90% of people aged 12 or above have received the first dose of COVID-19 vaccine while the percentage of those having received the second dose will soon reach 90%. Yet, the first-dose vaccination rate for children aged 3 to 11 and that for elderly persons aged 70 or above have only reached 60% and 70% respectively, far lower than those of other age groups.  The HKSAR Government will continue to further boost the vaccination rates of children and the elderly as a matter of priority.  For instance, the Home Vaccination Service was launched on April 26 such that outreach teams can provide door-to-door vaccination service for registered unvaccinated elderly persons aged 70 or above and persons with impaired mobility due to illness or physical disability; a new stage of outreach vaccination service has been rolled out to boost the first-dose vaccination rate at residential care homes from the current rate of over 70% to 90% as soon as possible; diverse and convenient channels have been made available for children to receive vaccination; and the Vaccine Pass will continue to be strictly implemented, requiring all the people entering relevant premises to have received two and three vaccine doses with effect from the end of April and the end of May respectively.

The other major anti-epidemic and related measures introduced are tabulated below in the chronological order: 

Supporting enterprises to regain vigour and safeguard jobs

Since the HKSAR Government’s announcement of the preliminary framework of the 2022 Employment Support Scheme (ESS) on March 18, many Legislative Council (LegCo) Members and the relevant sectors have expressed strong support while raising further requests.  After listening to the views of various parties, I announced on April 7 the refined version of the 2022 ESS.  The enhancement measures included: removing the monthly salary cap for employees eligible for the wage subsidy; allowing employers to choose either the 2020 ESS data or the fourth quarter of 2021 for setting the number of headcounts eligible for the wage subsidy; allowing the industries which are less affected by the fifth wave of the epidemic to apply for the wage subsidy, with 100 employees as the cap (with the Exclusion List amended into the Restricted List); covering part-timers, temporary staff, as well as self-employed persons, and employees aged 65 or above, with Mandatory Provident Fund accounts.  Following the passage of the funding application worth $43 billion by the Finance Committee of LegCo on April 12, the scheme will be open for applications starting April 29. 

Besides, the Temporary Unemployment Relief Scheme under the sixth round of the Anti-epidemic Fund has received over 470,000 applications by the deadline of April 12. A one-off subsidy of $10,000 has been disbursed to 101,000 eligible persons thus far. 

It has been over four months since the outbreak of the fifth wave of the epidemic in Hong Kong.  We have gone through an arduous journey, having ridden out the storms in February and March, while seeing the dawn in April.  Nonetheless, as the epidemic situation across the globe shows no sign of abating and we still see hundreds of confirmed cases in Hong Kong every day, the HKSAR Government will stay vigilant and members of the public should not let their guard down.  With the support of the Central Government, we will continue to steadfastly implement the measures of “early identification, early isolation and early treatment” to further stabilise the epidemic situation and enable society to return to normalcy in an orderly manner.  Let us join hands to safeguard the safety and health of all and ensure the overall stability in society, reinvigorating Hong Kong’s integral role as a bridge and a hub connecting with the Mainland and overseas places!