Coronavirus: Hong Kong’s new ‘Leave Home Safe’ mandate could leave homeless, others lacking smartphones without access to key services, NGO warns

Hong Kong’s move to mandate the use of its Covid-19 contact-tracing app at government buildings will hit homeless residents and other vulnerable groups in need of services hard given that many lack smartphones, an NGO has warned.

The new policy, seen as a first step towards placating Beijing’s concerns over the eventual reopening of the border with mainland China, comes as local officials have been under fire for failing to secure a deal despite an improving vaccination rate and months with effectively no local coronavirus cases.