Hong Kong to expand vaccine bubble coverage on 24 February

This will include restaurants and recreational facilities, among others.

Hong Kong will be expanding its vaccine bubble starting on 24 February in a bid to boost the city's vaccination rate and to combat the spread of coronavirus.

Chief Executive Carrie Lam on Tuesday announced the plan in a press briefing, saying the vaccine bubble will be applied to restaurants, culture and recreational facilities like public libraries and museums.

At least a first dose of vaccine may also be a requisite to teachers and staff of school, Lam said.

“At the moment There is no plan to extend the application to shopping malls or private workplaces because the impact will be far-reaching,” she said, adding that they cannot rule out any changes depending on the situation.

The chief executive noted that 72.9% of Hong Kong’s adult population had received at least the first dose.

Lam added that Hong Kong currently has 102 cases of the highly transmissible Omicron variant, 97 of which are imported cases, whilst five were related to imported cases.