Hong Kong launches vaccine pass, tightens social distancing with 17,000 new Covid-19 cases

Hong Kong officially began its vaccine-pass programme on February 24, 2022, as the city continued to struggle to contain a fifth wave of Covid-19 infections. Residents need to provide proof of vaccination to be allowed into venues including restaurants, shopping malls, supermarkets and wet markets. Officials hope the requirement will convince more people to get vaccinated. The city also further tightened social-distancing rules, which will remain in effect until at least April 20. The measures came into effect as the city recorded 8,798 new confirmed Covid-19 infections and 17,269 "reported infections", which refer to all cases collected from public and private facilities across the city on a particular day.