Health experts have suggested selling millions of Hong Kong's unused Covid-19 vaccines or pausing the phased supply from manufacturers to minimise waste, as the government explores donating the shots while racing against looming expiry dates. Nearly 4 million jabs from Chinese producer Sinovac and Germany's BioNTech have arrived in the city since February, but about 2 million of them are still languishing in storage amid a sluggish inoculation.
Chef Max Lavy (Photo: Izaskun Levy/Okra)
In one story we didn t see coming, modern izakaya cuisine and cryptocurrency are intersecting at Okra, which has begun accepting digital money in lieu of cash. Hot on the heels of the highly anticipated debut of crypto exchange platform Coinbase on the Nasdaq stock exchange, the Sai Ying Pun restaurant has sought the services of crypto payment processor Trust Wallet to accept Hong Kong dollar equivalent payments in Bitcoin, Ethereum, Binance Coin, Binance USD and Ripple.
Guests using cryptocurrency to pay for their meal will receive a 5 per cent discount on their total bill, mirroring the standard fees imposed on businesses that utilise credit card payments. All menu prices will be stated in Hong Kong dollars and the conversion rate, which is updated hourly, will be given before payment.
April 30, 2021
Block 11 of Carmel Cove was locked down at 7pm.
South China Morning Post
Hundreds of occupants of a 52-storey residential block in Tung Chung have been ordered into quarantine in Hong Kong’s biggest such operation after one of them was confirmed to have contracted a mutated strain of Covid-19 from an unknown source locally for the first time in the city.
Authorities cordoned off Tower 11 of Carmel Cove at the Caribbean Coast housing estate at 7pm on Thursday for a lockdown exercise expected to end at around 7am on Friday after testing of all residents was completed. Occupants will have to undergo three weeks of quarantine in government centres.
(MENAFN - Asia Times) Hong Kong s tourism and retail sectors are to be revitalized soon as a travel bubble scheme with Singapore will begin in late May while mainlanders may visit the territory without being quarantined.
The Hong Kong government announced on Monday that the long-awaited scheme with Singapore will start on May 26 at the earliest. Under the agreement, residents will be allowed to travel between the cities on designated flights without the need to quarantine.
Travelers are required to test negative for Covid-19 within 72 hours before they fly. They will also undergo another coronavirus test on arrival. However, Hong Kong participants will have to be fully vaccinated, except those under 16 or unsuitable for vaccination on medical grounds. Their counterparts in Singapore will be free from such requirement.