Health minister Lo Chung-mau said on Wednesday that the government moved quickly to change the law on Covid vaccine exemption certificates to ensure that it has the power to protect public health.

The Executive Council on Tuesday approved an amendment to legislation giving the minister the power to cancel the papers if there are grounds to believe they were issued without proper medical consultation. The High Court had on Friday ruled that existing anti-pandemic laws did not grant the secretary such a power.

The court granted a challenge to Lo's earlier attempt to void some 20,000 certificates issued by seven doctors suspected of giving them out improperly. Officials chose to change the legislation rather than appeal. The changes were made under the negative vetting principle, meaning they take effect immediately before going to the legislature for approval.

On Wednesday afternoon, Lo used his new powers to declare that the 20,000 certificates would become invalid in two weeks. The doctors concerned have one week to write to Lo to contest his decision.

Lo rejected criticism of the law change from the resident who brought the legal challenge, Kwok Cheuk-kin, who accused the government of creating a "heads I win, tails you lose" situation.

"It's not whether the government wins, or someone else wins. We have to make sure that it's all the citizens of Hong Kong win in this battle against Covid," Lo told reporters.

The minister said the case underlines the great importance the government attaches to public health, adding that the administration has a responsibility to ensure that it has sufficient legal grounds to enforce the law.

Asked whether changing the laws after losing in court has harmed the administration's authority to govern, Lo stressed that the original intention of the Prevention and Control of Disease Ordinance is to give officials enough powers to take up the responsibility of battling the epidemic.

In a written reply to a lawmaker's question, the secretary said the government would closely monitor the issuance of exemption certificates by doctors, firmly follow up if any irregularities are found and consider declaring the certificates invalid.

Lo noted police had so far arrested 39 people in relation to the cases, including six doctors, seven staff and 26 patients. One doctor is still wanted by the police.

The minister said those arrested are suspected of offences including making a false instrument and conspiracy to defraud. He said two of the doctors had so far been charged with three counts of accessing a computer with dishonest intent and two of conspiracy to defraud respectively.
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Last updated: 2022-10-26 HKT 17:04