the 1 July 2022. Lee was the sole approved candidate, and of 1,461 Election Committee voters, 8 rejected him, 4 cast blank ballots, and 33 did not vote. COVID-19 pandemic On 5 July 2022 in his first ever weekly news conference as the Chief Executive, Lee said that Hong Kong would look into easing COVID-19 health protocols, shortening the quarantine period in particular. However, he also stressed the aim to prevent the spread of COVID-19 and hospitals from being overwhelmed. He also expressed his awareness for Hong Kong to remain open and convenient to travellers but the risks posed by the pandemic should also be taken into considerations at the same time. In addition, he revealed that he had instructed Secretary of Health Lo Chung-mau to consider the possibility of the move. On 1 September 2022, Lee announced after his videoconference that people would be allowed to "reverse quarantine" in Hong Kong for 7 days before traveling to Guangzhou. Asked about quarantine-free travel to mainland China, Lee said "This proposal of doing quarantine in Hong Kong so as to fulfil the seven-plus-three requirement in Shenzhen is in no replacement of other measures that we always try to seek so as to allow more convenience in allowing people to travel from Hong Kong to the mainland." On 6 September 2022, Lee denied that government officials were in disagreement over pandemic measures with Bloomberg reporting that some officials hoped to end quarantine by November 2022. On 12 September 2022, SCMP reported that Hong Kong's health experts had been issued clear rules by Lee's administration, stating that they should not express conflicting opinion's against the government's official positions. This came after the government's COVID-19 Expert Advisory Panel, composed of six medical specialists, had several members who suggested gradually lifting COVID-19 restrictions, including removing hotel quarantine by November 2022. On 8 September 2022, Lee's administration announced that children as young as 5 years old would need to be vaccinated to eat in restaurants; it is one of the few places in the world that requires vaccination for children. A study released in October 2022 showed that 85% of parents in Hong Kong disagree with vaccinating their children. On 13 September 2022, Lee held a press conference, where he addressed concerns that people coming from mainland China to Hong Kong did not need to be vaccinated. Lee stated that mainland China had few cases and