by Nina Larson A watchdog said Thursday an independent UN expert took a large payment from Beijing, alleging that she helped China “whitewash” its treatment of the Uyghur minority and demanding she return the money. Alena Douhan. Photo: Supplied. Alena Douhan, the United Nations special rapporteur focused on the negative impact of unilateral sanctions, received … Read more
Hong Kong’s Covid-19 Vaccine Pass scheme is still “necessary,” the city’s health secretary has said, in response to a call from medical experts to relax requirements for under 60s. In an opinion piece published in Ming Pao on Friday, Secretary for Food and Health Sophia Chan said that making exemptions for any group would be … Read more
Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor reiterated that the government will implement the next stage of the city’s vaccine pass requirements to boost vaccination rates. All Hong Kong residents must get a third dose of a Covid-19 vaccine by May 31, unless exempted, in order to enter establishments such as restaurants, cinemas, gyms … Read more
The scant importance the government attaches to public relations and public communication, and its lack of competence in this area, could not have been made more clear than by the way the position of the director of the Information Services Department (ISD) has not been filled since last December. File photo: Tom Grundy / HKFP. … Read more
Hong Kong could face a sixth wave of Covid-19 in two weeks’ time, Gabriel Leung, the dean of the University of Hong Kong’s (HKU) medical school, has said, according to local media. According to HK01 and RTHK, Leung said during an internal HKU medical faculty meeting on Saturday that the city could see another wave … Read more
Top Hong Kong microbiologists have urged residents not to worry after health authorities on Thursday said “very high viral loads” had been found in sewage samples from a public housing estate in Kennedy Town. An overnight lockdown at the estate identified 22 Covid-19 cases. Sai Wan Estate. Photo: Peter Lee / HKFP. A total of … Read more
Hong Kong’s public swimming pools will not reopen on Thursday as expected, after the Leisure and Cultural Services Department (LCSD) said that it was conducting filtration and sterilization at the city’s 38 government-owned pools. In a statement issued on Tuesday night, hours after Chief Executive Carrie Lam announced that swimming pools would be among the … Read more
A top University of Hong Kong medic has said that Hong Kong will struggle to achieve zero Covid cases, though he expects the city’s declining number of cases could fall to double figures. A man rests in Chater Garden in Central. File photo: Hillary Leung / HKFP. Meanwhile, a Hong Kong hospital has found that … Read more