Get your jab records ready for Thursday’s start of vaccine pass scheme

By The SUN 

Wong shows how the scanner reads both an electronic and paper vaccination record

From Thursday, the government will start implementing the vaccine pass scheme to ensure that only vaccinated individuals are able to enter most premises which remain open, including restaurants, supermarkets, clubhouses and malls.

Vaccination proof will also be required of teachers and staff in schools, residential care homes as well as government offices, but exemptions will be given. Students are not covered.

High-ranking officials from different departments held a press conference this afternoon to give a demonstration of how enforcement action will be taken using the LeaveHomeSafe mobile application, and provide more details on the scheme.

PINDUTIN PARA SA DETALYE

Deputy Secretary for Food and Health Kevin Choi also reiterated what health officials have said, that the tough anti-pandemic measures could be tightened further, in case the current surge in coronavirus cases worsen.

Choi said that everyone above the age of 12 who enters the specified premises under the vaccine pass program will be required to enter using the LeaveHomeSafe app. As a further step, those who enter restaurants will have their app scanned to ensure they are vaccinated.

The scanning part will not required of those who enter other venues like supermarkets or malls, but they should have their vaccination records ready in case of spot checks by enforcers.

The vaccination record could either be in electronic form, which means it is downloaded in the LHS, iAMSmart or ehealth pass apps – or in its original paper form.

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Choi said the so-called “active” implementation of the regulation for catering premises is necessary because they are high-risk places, as people get to take off their masks to eat, drink and talk over a meal.

In comparison, entering a mall or supermarket is an activity that is not as risky, and operators may have operational difficulties so a “passive” implementation would suffice for now.

He said in these places, people need only to bring their vaccination records, in the same way they bring their Hong Kong ID cards whenever they step out of the house.

Choi said exemptions will be given to those who hold certificates issued by a medical practitioner indicating they are not fit for vaccination.

PINDUTIN PARA SA DETALYE

Further exemptions include people who need to pass by malls and other listed premises on their way to work or home, or need to get in to buy medicines or other supplies for health purposes.

But Choi said all other people who are supposed to be just passing by must not shop in any grocery or outlet in the mall as that is not part of the exemption.

The vaccine pass will be implemented in three stages, with the first stage requiring people who enter the specified premises to have had at least one dose of a vaccine. By the second stage at the end of April they should have had their second dose, and by the third stage at the end of June, three jabs will be required.

Those who enter indoor markets may be checked at any time if  they are vaccinated

Deputy Government Chief Information Officer Tony Wong demonstrated how the LHS app works with a scanner in premises requiring active enforcement of the vaccine pass. Both the paper record and a medical exemption certificate can be uploaded into the app.

Wong said an alert will sound off when a vaccine certificate is scanned. A different sound is emitted if a medical certificate is scanned. If no vaccination record is detected, the app will display a red sign.

At the start of stage two of the implementation, staff members in restaurants will be able to see how many vaccine shots have been recorded.

But Wong said all the data is encrypted, meaning restaurants and other people will have no access. But once an infection is detected in the premised, the Centre for Health Protection will send a one-time password to the restaurant to unlock the data of patrons who had visited at the indicated for contact-tracing purposes.

The officials were quick to warn that anyone who uses someone else’s phone to enter a premises will be committing a crime similar to using another person’s documents.

The government will soon set up a website giving all information about the vaccine pass scheme before its implementation on Thursday.