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Written by: Review Editor Room
2020-07-20 17:45
Last update date: 2020-07-20 17:45After 100 confirmed cases in Hong Kong on Sunday (19th), 73 new cases were recorded on Monday, and the prevention and control of the epidemic took a sharp turn. Zhang Wenhong, the Shanghai expert team leader in the medical treatment of new coronary pneumonia and the director of the Department of Infectious Diseases of Huashan Hospital affiliated to Fudan University, issued a post commenting that the cause of the outbreak in Hong Kong is that Hong Kong has been adopting "symptomatic medical treatment", unlike the previous outbreak in Beijing. , Swiftly carried out accurate "all inspections to be inspected", and expanded inspections to start large-scale investigations and general screenings.
There are pros and cons for "seeing asymptomatic treatment" and "should be checked." The former has low initial investment, but once it breaks out, it will cause greater "social and economic costs" losses. The latter invests a lot, but it is the only way to investigate the source as soon as possible and stop the spread. Therefore, when the epidemic is under control and the scope of impact is small, society may be able to discuss the pros and cons of the two models and choose the best according to the needs of the economy and people's livelihood. Hong Kong society has indeed made small achievements in the balance of economy, people's livelihood and epidemic prevention needs. It is just that when the epidemic is heating up and there is an urgent need to quickly control the growth, strict social measures and a large investment in the "should check and do check" model become necessary.
However, the Hong Kong government, which has been implementing relatively loose epidemic prevention measures and focusing on "seeing medical treatments", has encountered many difficulties and loopholes in the practice of "all inspections". For example, in the inspection and quarantine of high-risk industries, due to poor government arrangements, practitioners in high-risk industries are unwilling to participate in the free one-time inspection provided by the government. Take taxi drivers as an example. Part of the early cases of the third wave of the epidemic came from taxi groups. The government specifically included taxi drivers as one of the first four high-risk industries for free testing. It was originally estimated that about 70,000 taxi drivers were involved. However, on the first day of registration, the Transport Department only received 2,628 calls to make appointments, and the response was not positive.
Zhang Wenhong said that Hong Kong did not rapidly expand testing after the first case, as was the case when a new wave of epidemic broke out in Beijing earlier. This is based on Hong Kong’s concept of controlling the epidemic at a “low level” instead of “zeroing zero”. . The picture shows the Transport Department arranging virus testing for taxi drivers. (Photo by Luo Guohui)
Testing is not easy
Some taxi drivers posted a post on the social group "Taxi Driver Information Network Taxi", worrying that "people in the class would swarm for free at first sight", making the inspection process even more dangerous. In this regard, in order to increase the attractiveness of voluntary testing, the government needs to improve location and time diversion measures. For example, communicate with the industry whether to open other quarantine locations, or extend or divert the testing period, or adopt the method of distributing testing bottles in residential buildings.
At the same time, Du Shentang, director of the Taxi Drivers Branch of the Automobile and Transportation Industry Federation, also reflected that some drivers are worried about the need to stop work after the diagnosis, and are afraid to avoid the test results. In this regard, the government should not neglect the establishment of comprehensive financial support and safeguard measures for frontline workers after the diagnosis is confirmed, so as to reduce their worries about giving up testing due to economic concerns. When the epidemic becomes more serious, the government should negotiate with experts and labor unions on whether escalation measures are needed, change voluntary quarantine into compulsory quarantine, and adopt a certificated way of going to work to ensure safety.
The government's investigation work in front-line and high-risk industries deserves to be improved, and the difficulties faced by citizens in voluntary testing also require government attention. Under the epidemic, whether it is residents who need to leave the country due to family or work relationships, or residents who want to self-test for peace of mind, nucleic acid testing has become a rigid need, and it also helps society to investigate potential risks. However, even if the government approved eight private hospitals and private laboratories for virus testing in June, the public’s road to nucleic acid testing is still very difficult. In addition to the high cost that has long been criticized, many hospitals have opaque, timely and in short supply of testing information, so long queues have also caused a lot of trouble. For example, there is a test appointment at the Tsuen Wan Hong Kong Adventist Hospital, which was scheduled to the 31st of the month as early as Saturday (18th). A reporter visited many hospitals and found that many hospitals had erected signs outside the doors of the hospitals, saying that the test quotas were full on that day. However, the webpages for checking quota details on the Internet had frequent problems and were not updated in a timely manner, which caused the public to "pounce" everywhere and increase the risk.
On July 17, 2020, the Transport Department began to arrange for taxi drivers to receive one-time free virus testing services. A driver went to the temporary sample collection center in Linshi Street parking lot for testing. (Photo by Luo Guohui)
In this regard, the government can make uniform requirements and standards for the information updates of hospitals and laboratories that provide testing. The Department of Health can also consult with relevant agencies and representatives of citizens to explore whether there is room for flexible treatment and establish the priority of testing for people with special needs. The most fundamental thing is that the government should cooperate with more private organizations to expand the testing samples. For example, Hong Kong Haikang Life Technology Co., Ltd. wrote to the government in early March to express its willingness to donate the company's virus detection technology free of charge. The company's detection technology is more sensitive than the technology being used by the government. It can detect 400 samples at a time and the detection only takes 4 to 5 hours. In addition, research teams such as the University of Science and Technology, the University of Science and Technology, and the Li Ka Shing School of Medicine of the University of Hong Kong all have rapid detection technology. The government should actively contact them and cooperate to expand the number of tests. In order to achieve "all inspections," the government must not just open up a few approved virus testing agencies, but must take more active responsibility for overall planning, coordination, efficiency enhancement, and expansion of new channels.
Hong Kong has been diagnosed with over 100 cases, and cases of no source are frequent, so that large-scale testing and investigation of risks have become necessary now. However, the Hong Kong government's "all inspections" and supporting measures are insufficient, resulting in insufficient inspections and chaos. The government must show courage and determination to launch a rigorous large-scale investigation, or it can prevent the Hong Kong epidemic from worsening to the next stage.
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