More than 190,000 individuals, comprising vacationers, college students and staff, crossed the border between Hong Kong and mainland China on February 6.

The requirement of getting travellers declare their well being standing when crossing the border was later dropped in November, aside from these experiencing signs.

190,000 cross Hong Kong-mainland border on first day of full reopening

2. Smiles on the street once more

The coverage change was additionally seen as useful to the economic system as a result of it symbolised town’s efforts to return to a state of normality. Health chief Lo Chung-mau stated on the time that individuals may present their smiles and say “Hello Hong Kong”, a reference to the title of the federal government’s world marketing campaign again then to draw guests to town put up pandemic.

3. Bye bye Covid testing

Secondary faculties in Hong Kong had been not required to conduct every day fast antigen assessments (RAT) for the coronavirus from March 1. The similar rest was later utilized to different pupils in mid-March. Students, workers and guests had been additionally not required to measure their temperature earlier than going to highschool.

Daily RAT assessments for college kids in any respect ranges had been launched in April 2022 when half-day face-to-face courses resumed.

March additionally marked the scrapping of RAT for guests and scientific workers at public hospitals and guests and residents at care properties.

Hong Kong to end daily RAT tests for all pupils from Thursday

4. Immunity weakened

In 2023, 22 paediatric instances of extreme influenza-associated issues had been recorded, together with 5 deaths. In October, it was reported that 232 extreme grownup instances had been recorded because the begin of the summer time flu season in August, with 141 deaths up to now.

The Centre for Health Protection warned that after the Covid-19 pandemic receded, a phenomenon referred to as “immunity gap” had emerged all over the world through which social-distancing measures brought about immunity towards different viruses to have weakened. That has led to outbreaks of respiratory diseases.

The Hospital Authority in December introduced that it had allotted over HK$890 million (US$114 million) to all public hospitals to organize for the winter flu season between the tip of 2023 and subsequent May.

5. Vaccine efforts roll on

Although the Covid-19 pandemic had subsided, Hong Kong didn’t stop efforts in offering vaccines to residents.

The first batch of 100,000 doses of the mRNA vaccine focusing on the Covid-19 variant XBB manufactured by BioNTech and Pfizer arrived in Hong Kong in late November, with individuals aged 65 or older being eligible from December.

Another batch of about 100,000 doses of the identical kind of vaccine produced by Moderna, would additionally arrive within the metropolis “soon”, the federal government added with out giving a date.

Hong Kong receives first batch of Covid XBB variant vaccines

6. International collaborations

Professor Yuen Kwok-yung from the University of Hong Kong (HKU) and fellow scientists from different prime mainland and abroad establishments akin to prime respiratory illness knowledgeable Professor Zhong Nanshan and famend virologist Professor David Ho of Columbia University launched the Pandemic Research Alliance in December for joint analysis on novel viruses and to assist put together for the following pandemic.

Top scientists, including Hong Kong scholar, vow to prepare for next pandemic

The alliance’s membership additionally included scientists from the University of Melbourne’s Doherty Institute in Australia, Singapore’s Duke-NUS Medical School, Guangzhou National Laboratory and Tsinghua University on the mainland.

7. Monkeypox

With journey resuming, monkeypox (mpox) instances continued to rise in Hong Kong this yr after the primary case was found within the metropolis in September 2022. Fifty-four confirmed mpox instances have been recorded in Hong Kong as of November.

More than 14,800 doses had been administered underneath the federal government’s mpox vaccination programme which started in October 2022.

8. Mental well being disaster

Hong Kong’s psychological well being state of affairs got here underneath the highlight in 2023. In June, the federal government’s Advisory Committee on Mental Health proposed 10 measures to enhance town’s public psychological well being companies within the wake of a tragedy the place two girls had been stabbed to loss of life at a purchasing centre by a person stated to have schizophrenia.

Hong Kong urged to set up high-level body to coordinate mental health policies

An increase in suicides amongst major and secondary faculty pupils has additionally triggered considerations over the psychological well being of town’s youthful technology. At least 31 college students took their very own lives within the first 11 months this yr, in contrast with 25 in 2022, 25 in 2021 and 21 in 2020.

A citywide examine launched in December discovered practically one in 4 Hong Kong youngsters and adolescents suffered from a minimum of one psychological dysfunction previously yr and greater than 8 per cent of secondary faculty college students had thought of suicide.

9. Organ donation register withdrawals

It was believed that some individuals made the withdrawals as a result of the federal government stated they had been exploring the organising of a standing organ transplant mutual help mechanism with the mainland after the December transplant.

But greater than half of all tried withdrawals had been discovered to be invalid because the candidates had not registered within the first place or repeatedly made requests to depart the scheme.

10. Other key health-related insurance policies

Under legislation amendments proposed by well being authorities in May, sufferers affected by terminal diseases could also be granted extra authorized energy to cease receiving medical remedy if they want.

Their choice to not obtain resuscitation or different life-sustaining medical therapies on the closing stage must also be revered by paramedics exterior hospital settings, in line with the proposal.

Hong Kong to give terminally ill patients more say over where and how they die

The authorities in November additionally proposed permitting Hongkongers to offer authorized directions electronically to reject sure drugs in end-of-life remedy, along with the present follow in paper format.