Hong Kong on Dec. 2 announced a CCP-style health code application that tracks a user’s travel history.
Hong Kong Chief Information Officer Victor Lam said CCP authorities can only access a person’s data if “he or she is an infected person, or he or she has a high risk of infection, for example, is identified as a close contact.”
Similar to the health codes used by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), the system will generate a color-coded QR health code—green, yellow, and red—based on users’ travel history.
The system will import data from an existing contract tracing application, LeaveHomeSafe, which will be compulsory for all restaurants, gyms, and cinemas from next week.
Only users with a green health code will be allowed to cross the border, authorities said.
In mainland China, a green code on the health tracking app is essential for taking public transport, accessing shops, or even leaving homes.
The red or orange codes mean they face mandatory quarantine and nucleic acid tests.
Hong Kong authorities said the health code will launch on Dec. 10.
The addition of the health code allows Hong Kong to fulfill the mainland’s basic criteria for gradually resuming quarantine-free travel both ways. However, there is no set date as to when the resumption of such travel will begin.
Currently, Hong Kong travelers have to serve 21 days of quarantine in most provinces when they arrive in the mainland.
Hong Kong authorities have implemented some of the world’s toughest coronavirus curbs measures to sway Beijing to open the border to the city. Business groups warned the financial hub may lose talents and investments due to the curbs.
