Coronavirus: Hong Kong health chief will have power to nullify ‘problematic’ jab exemptions from Wednesday
- The amendments will be submitted to the Legislative Council for negative vetting, meaning lawmakers will vote on them after legislation takes effect
- A spokesman says government has duty ‘to plug the loopholes’ to provide a clear legal basis
Hong Kong’s health chief will have the power to invalidate Covid-19 vaccination exemption letters from Wednesday, after the government amended the law in response to a court ruling that banned the move.
A government spokesman on Tuesday said authorities had decided not to file an appeal against a High Court ruling last Friday that prevented the administration from revoking more than 20,000 exemptions issued by seven doctors suspected of malpractice, as it was not the “most appropriate solution”.
“The government has sought legal advice and taken the urgency of the anti-epidemic efforts, the duration of litigation involved in an appeal and the validity period of exemption documents in question into account,” the spokesman said.
“[We] have decided that the most appropriate solution is to amend the law instead of filing an appeal, which is in the best interest of Hong Kong.”
The spokesman said the amended regulation would take effect on Wednesday. The amendments will also be submitted to the Legislative Council for negative vetting, meaning lawmakers will vote on them after the updated legislation takes effect.
