Dear HPSHCC students
With effect from 17 January 2022 (Monday), HPSHCC will follow The University of Hong Kong (HKU) in introducing enhanced COVID-19 control measures in accordance with public health policies. From this date, anyone wishing to enter HPSHCC campus will need either to be fully vaccinated or take weekly COVID self-tests. Details of the enhanced measures are provided below.
1. Who are required to observe the enhanced COVID-19 control measures?
The enhanced measures apply to all persons entering HPSHCC campus. In order to gain access to the campus, they should be able to show, upon request, evidence that they are either fully vaccinated or have been tested negative on a weekly basis.
2. What does it mean by “fully vaccinated”?
In determining whether one is “fully vaccinated”, reference should be made to the Government’s list of recognised COVID-19 vaccines and doses (https://www.coronavirus.gov.hk/pdf/list_of_recognised_covid19_vaccines.pdf).
This list is subject to constant update. If there are significant changes, for instance relating to booster jabs, the College will inform students of it. Another important point to note is that a person will only be considered as “fully vaccinated” 14 days after receiving the required doses of a recognised vaccine (also see #3 below for certain exemptions and relaxations in accordance with current Government guidelines).
3. Will there be exemptions and/or relaxations?
Yes, we will follow Government guidelines on exemptions for children under the age of 12, and relaxations in terms of the number of doses required for persons aged between 12 to 17, and those who have recovered from a previous COVID-19 infection. (https://www.covidvaccine.gov.hk/en/faq).
4. Will there be exemptions for people who cannot take the COVID-19 vaccine?
No, there will not. People who cannot take the COVID-19 vaccine on medical grounds will still need to take a weekly self-test as for those who are not fully vaccinated.
Only medical certificates in the standard format (https://www.coronavirus.gov.hk/pdf/599FG_letterfrdoctor.pdf) issued by a registered doctor or hospital will be accepted for the purpose of the enhanced COVID-19 control measures. The list of registered medical doctors can be assessed at http://www.mchk.org.hk. For the avoidance of doubt, medical certificates issued by registered Chinese medicine practitioners and other healthcare professionals (e.g. chiropractors and physiotherapists), irrespective of whether they are issued by the Hospital Authority, a Government or private hospital/clinic, will not be accepted.
Another point to note relates to the validity period of medical certificates regarding a person’s unfitness to receive vaccination. Considering that some medical certificates may have been issued some time ago since the official launch of the Government’s COVID-19 Vaccination Programme in late February 2021, and the assessments and/or recommendations therein may have expired, the College will only accept certificates issued by a registered medical doctor or hospital on or after 1 October 2021.
For medical certificates with a specified validity period regarding a person’s unfitness for receiving vaccination, the relevant medical assessment/recommendation will be considered valid throughout such specified period. Where no validity period is specified, the medical assessment/recommendation will be considered as valid for up to three months from the issue date, or up to the date when a recall appointment/re-appointment is scheduled, whichever date is the earlier.
A medical certificate sample can be found in the following Government website: https://www.coronavirus.gov.hk/pdf/599FG_letterfrdoctor.pdf.
5. What kinds of self-test are acceptable?
All major COVID tests recognised by the Government, such as deep throat saliva, combined throat and nasal swab, and nasopharyngeal swab are acceptable. Useful information on various virus testing routes as well as distribution points of test packs etc. are available via the hyperlink https://www.coronavirus.gov.hk/eng/early-testing.html.
6. How will the system work for HPSHCC students?
Please note that there are different protocols for access to HPSHCC campus and the HKU campus.
- HPHSCC campus: Students will be invited to register their COVID-19 status through the HKU SPACE Green Pass System (GPSys) to upload their vaccination records and/or valid weekly COVID test reports (self-arranged and self-paid) to their smartphones.
Upon successful completion of the registration process (the detailed procedures will be provided later), the registered persons will receive a “Green Pass” generated by the GPSys which will enable them to gain access, for the purpose of the enhanced COVID-19 control measures, to HPSHCC campus. Thus, for people who are fully vaccinated, it will be a simple one-off exercise and will only require further action when the notion of “fully vaccinated” changes. For people who are not fully vaccinated, weekly updating of the self-test records via the GPSys will be required.
- HKU Main Campus/Libraries: Students registered under the GPSys will be able to access the campus using their HKU Facilities Access Card as information on individual COVID-19 status captured in the GPSys will automatically be transferred to the HKU system in order to obviate the need for a further upload to the HKU system by the users in this category. If you have not collected your HKU Facilities Access Card, please contact the library staff on 4/F of HPSHCC.
Students who do not possess a valid HKU Facilities Access Card, they have to use FEHD’s eVT Code Verifier App or show the original copies, photocopies, and screenshots of vaccination records and self-test results upon request at the entrances.
7. What will registered students need to do when they enter HPSHCC campus or HKU Campus/Libraries?
- For Access to HPSHCC campus:
Registered students will be required to present their Green Pass to the security guards at the main entrance. Random checks will be made to ensure that students comply with the enhanced COVID-19 control measures. - For Access to the HKU Campus/Libraries:
HKU will install readers at its entrances. Registered students will need to tap their HKU Facilities Access Card on one of the readers to show they comply with the enhanced COVID-19 control measures. Security guards will be posted at major entrance to reach out to anyone in need of assistance.
8. Will it be possible to simply show the vaccination record or self-test results to a security guard?
Yes, this will be fine. Both HKU and HPSHCC will accept original copies, photocopies, and screenshots of vaccination records and self-test results; but students are strongly advised to register their vaccination records or self-test results under the GPSys in order to save queueing up time at the entrances.
9. What is the Implementation Timeline for the GPSys?
- 3 January 2022 (Monday): registration in GPSys opens through Learner Portal. Students are strongly advised to complete the registration by 12 January 2022 (Wednesday) to allow more time to deal with possible teething problems during the initial stage of implementation.
- 17 January 2022 (Monday): full implementation of the measures.
10. Further details
Updates will be made from time to time to take account of possible changes in Governmental guidelines and University arrangements. For enquiries, please refer to Learner Portal, or contact HPSHCC Office.
HPSHCC
21 December 2021