HONG KONG, June 1 (Reuters) – Hong Kong’s banking regulator on Tuesday told banks in the city to submit a list of staff in key roles who will receive a COVID-19 vaccine for business continuity reasons, adding the designated people should be vaccinated as soon as possible.
Authorities in the financial hub are struggling to boost the inoculation rate among the city’s 7.5 million population, and Hong Kong’s government, on Monday, said it would offer vaccinated civil servants two days off as an incentive for getting a shot.
The staff on the list should include those who have frequent face-to-face interactions with customers and those responsible for critical IT, data centre, treasury and settlement operations, Arthur Yuen deputy chief executive of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA), said in a letter to all authorised banks in the city published on the HKMA’s website.
Yuen, who urged banks to offer staff additional incentives for inoculation, said a high vaccination rate was necessary for restarting international travel. He said this was crucial to maintain Hong Kong’s status as an international finance centre.
Hong Kong on Friday said vaccinated top executives of companies licenced by the city’s markets watchdog could be exempted from compulsory quarantine arrangements when travelling for work, subject to certain conditions.
Roughly 21% of Hong Kong’s population aged 16 and above has had at least one dose of a COVID vaccine, based on official figures.
Reporting by Alun John. Editing by Jane Merriman
