Hong Kong's leader on Tuesday announced a further tightening of the city's vaccination rules, days after the city confirmed a first Omicron cluster that has prompted fears of a wider community outbreak, CNN reported. Chief Executive Carrie Lam said at a news conference that from February 24, unvaccinated people will not be allowed to enter venues including museums, public libraries and schools. The government will also require school principals and teachers to get inoculated, Lam said. It is not yet decided whether students will be required to be vaccinated, she added. The government currently has no plans to apply the tightened vaccination rules to private workplaces or shopping malls, Lam said. Lagging vaccination rate: All year, Hong Kong authorities have struggled to encourage higher vaccination rates — particularly among the reluctant elderly. Just under 70% of Hong Kong's 7.5 million people are fully vaccinated, while nearly 73% have received their first dose, according to the Centre for Health Protection. Hong Kong is one of the few places, alongside mainland China, to still use a zero-Covid approach, resulting in one of the world's strictest border control and quarantine programs. Lam said Tuesday that in light of local Omicron cases, resumption of normal travel between Hong Kong and mainland China will "have to wait for another while."
