【New Coronary Pneumonia】The epidemic situation becomes serious and work should be flexible

01 point of view

Written by: Review Editor Room

2020-07-14 17:40

The New Coronary Pneumonia epidemic has once again raged in Hong Kong. The Government introduced a number of anti-epidemic measures on Monday (13th), including restaurants not allowing dine-in during dinner, and the temporary closure of gaming machine centers and health rooms. Although Zhang Zhujun, director of the Department of Infectious Diseases of the Centre for Health Protection, described the epidemic in Hong Kong as severe as in March, Chief Executive Lin Zheng Yuee stated that he did not intend to implement civil servants’ work at home substantially. The notice issued by the Secretary for the Civil Service only stated that civil servants should be allowed to work flexibly and eat out , The specific "work at home" measure is not given.

From the end of January to the end of April this year, the government arranges for government personnel who do not provide emergency and public services to work from home. (Profile picture / Photo by Liang Pengwei)

The virus becomes stronger and the reaction becomes weaker?

In the third wave of outbreaks, Hong Kong has recorded double-digit confirmed cases for several consecutive days. Even in a new round of infections, Dean Liang Zhuowei of the University of Hong Kong Medical School pointed out that the virus has been mutated and the transmission rate is 30% higher than the initial stage of the outbreak. It is also the first time Hong Kong has faced a continuous, large-scale local outbreak since the outbreak. However, compared with the early stage of the epidemic, not only did the public's awareness of epidemic prevention gradually relax, but the government no longer explicitly ordered civil servants to work from home. The obvious gap between the epidemic prevention measures and the development of the epidemic caused many citizens to worry.

At present, although many companies can work remotely and have accumulated experience in March, the company finally decided that it may refer to the government's position. As the largest employer in Hong Kong, the Government employs nearly 160,000 people. The Government should also be more active on the issue of working from home, and strike a balance between maintaining the economy and the health of its employees.

The rate of virus transmission has increased, the number of infections of unknown origin has increased, and the risk of community activities has increased compared to the past. The World Health Organization has also warned earlier that the virus will probably exist for a long time, and there have been outbreaks of viruses in other places. In addition to allowing employees to work flexibly, the Government should also allow jobs that can be worked from home to be kept at home as much as possible, formulate flexible work models in advance for the possible future epidemic situation in Hong Kong, and encourage other employers in Hong Kong to follow suit. For example, take the lead in coordinating with employees to work in batches, or negotiating feasible work-at-home arrangements with employees, and then controlling the number of employees based on the epidemic situation.

Formulate a flexible working model in advance regarding Hong Kong's potentially changing epidemic situation and encourage other employers in Hong Kong to follow suit. (Profile picture)

Enterprises should be socially responsible

As the epidemic situation becomes unclear, many companies may have implemented work from home or started working in batches. However, there are still many enterprises in Hong Kong who are unable to work from home due to the limitations of the industry due to their business model, such as catering and retail. Considering the busy traffic during commuting hours and the risk of large-scale infections in the community, industries that are able to implement "work at home" are still committed to reducing the busy traffic during work hours to protect the health of employees and avoid the increase in immune diseases leading to medical treatment The system cannot bear the burden.

Fighting the epidemic depends on the joint efforts of society. "Working from home" depends on the government to do a good job, and whether the company cooperates is also crucial. Enterprises that can work from home should take social responsibility under the epidemic, consider the industries that cannot work from home, and also consider the employees' concerns about the epidemic, and arrange for employees to work from home as far as possible.

[New Coronary Pneumonia] Hong Kong lags far behind Singapore in testing

[New Coronary Pneumonia] Has the outbreak of Lin Zheng dozed off?

[New Coronary Pneumonia] Book Fair Cautious and Balanced

01 point of view

New Crown Pneumonia home office (work at home) 01 views