Reopening international travel has little impact on the spread of COVID-19

The study titled “Long-term planning after the 5th wave BA.2 Omicron in Hong Kong”, by experts from the World Health Organization (WHO), the Health Data Detection Laboratory and the University of Hong Kong study conducted. According to the study, the entry of foreign tourists will not have a significant impact, as long as they receive the full dose of vaccine and test negative for SARS-CoV-2 virus before boarding a plane to Hong Kong. .

The study expects a sixth wave of the disease to begin next June as authorities relax disease control measures and increase vaccination rates. Specifically, the researchers assume that if social distancing measures are lifted on June 1, the sixth wave of the epidemic will break out and last for two months. By June 30, the number of cases will fall to about 6.7 million and the number of deaths will increase to 10,882 cases. The number of people over 70 years of age who need at least two doses of the vaccine needs to increase from the current 70% to at least 90%.

The researchers suggest that the best strategy for the Hong Kong government in the near term is a “controlled transition” to live with the epidemic.

Hong Kong has faced a spike in COVID-19 cases and deaths since February, forcing authorities to tighten epidemic prevention measures. On March 21, the head of the Hong Kong government, Lam Trinh Nguyet Nga, said that she would start easing some social distancing measures starting from April.

Since the beginning of the epidemic, Hong Kong has recorded more than 1 million cases and over 6,000 deaths, most of which were reported in the past month. Researchers believe that more than 50% of Hong Kong’s population has been infected with the SARS-CoV-2 virus.