HK China Hawaii Chamber of Commerce is in full support – SCMP: Hong Kong must move to a ‘zero’ (no quarantine) policy for travelers. 香港中國夏威夷商會百份百支持 – 南華早報：城市必須對旅行者實行“零”（無隔離）政策 By Bernard Chan (香港玫瑰崗學校校友fellow RHS alumni)

Twenty-one, 14, seven, 3+4, 0+3. This is not some strange derivative of a reverse Fibonacci sequence. Sadly, most Hong Kong residents probably know what these numbers mean – the dreaded number of hotel quarantine days upon arrival in the city.

There has been much speculation about when Hong Kong will implement a “0+0” entry policy, but this was not announced in Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu’s policy address. But what is “0+0”? It has yet to be defined.

To many, it means no hotel quarantine and the ability to go to restaurants immediately but with testing on arrival to screen for positive cases. These cases would likely receive a red code and be unable to go to office or visit restaurants and bars. It is up for debate whether the “+0” part includes medical surveillance or not.

While I applaud the current administration for its relatively rapid progression to no hotel quarantine for travellers, I am of the opinion that at this stage of the pandemic, we need to move to a full and unqualified “zero” policy. By this I mean no quarantine, no medical surveillance and, importantly, no testing.

Even the “0+0” with testing will appeal only to Hongkongers and those who have family or friends in Hong Kong they wish to visit. It won’t attract most tourists and businesspeople as they would run the risk of testing positive for Covid-19 and being unable to enter offices and restaurants. People already avoid Hong Kong because of the threat of confinement to the infamous Penny’s Bay, whether real or imagined.

As has been widely reported, our restrictive anti-pandemic measures have resulted in an exodus of both firms and talent. Regional roles require frequent travel and, as other countries have opened up, many companies have relocated their staff overseas – some temporarily, others permanently. According to a recent survey by the Hong Kong Investment Funds Association, more than a third of fund management companies have moved some or all of their regional and global roles out of Hong Kong.

Granted, stringent measures were warranted early in the pandemic when Covid-19 was more virulent and we had no vaccination or antiviral medication. Now, though, we enjoy one of the highest vaccination rates in the world, with more than 92 per cent of Hongkongers double-vaccinated.

Infectious disease experts have noted that the pandemic has entered an endemic phase in Hong Kong. As long as the evidence shows that our public health system can handle the serious infections, perhaps it is time to migrate to a “new normal”. I fear that if we don’t get rid of testing quicker and go to absolute zero, more of the damage that has been done will become permanent.

While we haven’t been standing still in easing pandemic restrictions, other places have taken advantage of our relative lack of speed. Our arch-rival Singapore started to resume quarantine-free travel for fully vaccinated people from select countries last October – a year ahead of Hong Kong.

It is no surprise then that Singapore overtook Hong Kong as Asia’s top financial centre, according to Global Financial Centres Index. We are also losing out to other places on conferences and sporting events, with the world’s largest dragon boat racing competition moved to Thailand.

Cathay Pacific’s management predicts that it will take until late 2024 or early 2025 before its business returns to pre-Covid levels. However, I am of the firm belief that we can regain lost ground if we act decisively now.

One way or another, we need to find a way to pivot to normality. It is unsustainable to test and quarantine forever, especially when most countries have completely opened up. According to Travel Off Path, there were 111 countries as of October 4 that had zero travel restrictions or entry requirements, including no tests before or after arrival, no quarantine, no ban on any countries and no vaccine requirements.

Perhaps it is time for the responsibility for Covid-related health to shift back to individuals. We can transition back to pre-pandemic times when people would abstain from work or social events and wear masks when they fell ill.

The rest of society would not have to pay the price. We would be saving the economy, the environment and people’s livelihoods and mental well-being.

宜研無條件0＋0 加快全面復常

「21、14、7、3＋4、0＋3」，這個看似是數學推理的題目，但相信大多數香港人都明白這串數字的含義，是疫情不同期間抵港的檢疫日數。

不少人談論香港的入境檢疫措施何時可放寬至「0＋0」，可惜剛公布的施政報告卻沒有提及。當然，我們還要看「0＋0」是甚麼意思：在大多數人看來，這意味着毋須檢疫隔離、可以立即去餐廳堂食，但來港仍要進行檢測以篩查陽性個案，確診者會轉為紅碼、也不能外出到辦公室、餐廳和酒吧，因此「＋0」的這部分是否包括醫學監測，還有討論空間。

雖然我很欣賞現屆政府相對迅速地實施抵港人士毋須接受酒店檢疫的措施，但我認為在現階段的疫情，我們需要轉向全面且無條件的「0」措施，我所指的是：毋須隔離、沒有醫學監測、更重要是毋須進行檢測。

即使是推行「0＋0」措施，相信都只能吸引香港人外遊，以及在香港有親友的人士到訪，卻不會吸引大多數外地遊客、商人或公幹人士來港，因為若他們在港檢測時呈陽性，就不能外出；再者，人們可能擔心會被安排到政府的檢疫中心如竹篙灣進行隔離。

就如許多媒體報道，我們的防疫措施導致一些原先以香港為亞太區總部的企業和人才外流。地區總部的人員需要經常出差，隨着其他國家和地方已開放入境，並取消檢疫措施，許多公司已把員工遷往其他地方，有些是暫時性，有的則是永久。香港投資基金公會早前一項調查顯示，約三分一受訪的基金公司已把部分或全部區域或全球職位從香港轉移至海外其他地區。

的確，在疫情大流行初期，病毒的毒性較強、還未有疫苗可供接種、也沒有抗病毒藥物，當時是有必要採取嚴格的防疫措施；但現時專家們都認為新冠病毒已轉變，已接種疫苗的人士就算染疫，大多只出現輕微症狀，而香港有很高的疫苗接種率，超過92%人士已接種兩劑疫苗。

政府專家顧問、港大醫學院內科學系傳染病科主任孔繁毅早前表示，我們有條件走出大流行，新冠肺炎變成地區性的風土病。我認為只要數據表明，我們的公共衞生系統有能力處理嚴重感染個案，也許是時候進入「新常態」；若仍然堅持檢測及清零等目標，我擔心這會對我們社會造成更多、且是永久性的損害。

盡管我們逐步放寬檢疫措施，但這相對慢的放寬速度，就令我們輸蝕不少。我們的主要競爭對手新加坡，在去年9月、10月時已開始對某些國家已完成接種疫苗的入境旅客豁免隔離檢疫，比我們早了整整一年。

據全球金融中心指數，新加坡在全球金融中心排名已超越香港，升至第三位，僅次於紐約和倫敦；我們在舉辦會議及體育賽事方面，也輸給其他地方，原定明年在香港舉行的世界龍舟錦標賽將改在泰國舉行。國泰航空的管理層在接受訪問時表示，預計航空運力要到2024年底或2025年初，才回復到疫情前水平。但我深信，只要我們現在能果斷及快速調整措施，我們可以收復失地。

無論如何，我們需要尋找方法以恢復常態，特別是大多數國家已完全對外開放下，我們難以持續地進行檢測和隔離檢疫。據旅行網站Travel Off Path數字，截至本月4日，全球有111個國家和地區已取消對入境人士的檢疫限制，包括入境或抵達都毋須檢測、毋須隔離、不因新冠疫情而禁止某個國家公民入境、毋須提供疫苗接種證明。

也許，是時候把新冠相關的健康責任轉回個人身上。讓我們回復到疫情前的狀況，生病時人們會向公司或學校請病假、自行戴上口罩、停止社交活動，社會其他人士不必為此付出代價；我們可以挽救經濟、減少因抗疫而產生的垃圾、顧及市民生計、維護市民身心健康。

Fellow RHS Alumni Bernard Charnwut Chan, GBM GBS JP (Chinese: 陳智思; 11 January 1965), is a Hong Kong politician and businessman. He served as Non-official Convenor of the Executive Council from 2017 to 2022