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Written by: Hao Ziyu
2021-01-27 21:06
Last update date: 2021-01-27 21:07
On January 23, the SAR government, which was not able to fight the epidemic, implemented the first partial closure test in Jordan for the first time. It dispatched about 3,000 staff from 16 government departments to investigate more than 7,000 residents and detected 13 confirmed cases of new crown pneumonia.
On January 26, when the Chief Executive Carrie Lam met with the media, she hinted that there would be another "closed area" situation, and that it would "rush" and "break up".
It was the first time that the Hong Kong government launched such a large-scale blockade test. There were many controversies before and after the operation.
However, the leapfrog step taken by the authorities is unavoidably flawed. Therefore, it is necessary to sum up experience in a timely manner to find a combination of leniency and strictness suitable for Hong Kong's anti-epidemic in the new year to cope with the continuous epidemic. .
On January 23, Jordan implemented the first partial closure inspection. The Hong Kong government dispatched about 3,000 staff from 16 government departments to participate in the closure inspection.
(Data Picture/Photo by Gao Zhongming)
"Think" before the epidemic
The Hong Kong government always "takes one step and thinks one step" and never plans in advance-even if the troubles are foreseeable.
This stubborn illness was once again manifested in the Jordan closure.
First of all, the unprecedented closure of the area was made only three weeks after the small outbreak in Yau Ma Tei. It is inevitable to be accused of "it is too late to fix the situation"-seeing this wave of community outbreaks have spread to surrounding areas, The government was determined to "docking its tail" painfully, and it was several beats slower than the spread of the epidemic.
Secondly, the closure of the area also exposed the omissions of the Hong Kong government's "compulsory" measures. Take the "compulsory evacuation" of the residents of the tenement house at No. 26 Xindidi Street as an example. The government thought it sent someone to pick up the people who lived at the time. After the guests, everything will be fine, but in terms of implementation, some residents are stranded.
Extended Reading:
Jordan Closed Area｜District Councillor asked 40 merchants for help who were dissatisfied with the lack of food and clothing
▼Jordan specified restricted area blockade and detection conditions on the night and day of January 23▼
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In addition, the government implemented the closure of districts on weekends with the original intention of reducing the impact on most citizens. However, many grassroots citizens have to go to work even on weekends, and the local vendors have to bear "zero income." Even more bear the loss of discarding fresh ingredients.
These are "common sense", not "lessons" that can be learned after the fact.
Any ordinary citizen can think of issues like this. Why can't the government officials and elites "prevent problems before they happen"?
Therefore, the authorities must consider different situations before making decisions, and at the same time formulate supporting measures and compensation plans.
If the Hong Kong government will continue to implement partial closures in response to the epidemic in the future, and every time it is slow to respond, many leaks, and without any forward thinking, then the closures can only be reduced to "formalism."
For example, the government should foresee that even if there is no leak, the public can roughly guess the blockade based on the area where the outbreak has been severe. Is the "assault" still useful?
How to deal with it?
How will street sleepers be accommodated during local lockdown testing in Yau Ma Tei, Sham Shui Po and other places?
For problems, you need to plan ahead to be prepared, not at a loss.
On January 23, a file owner asked the staff about the "zone closure".
(Photo/Photo by Luo Guohui)
Non-copying
In all fairness, in terms of duration, various types of support, or execution ability, the Jordan closure is indeed remarkable.
Jordan District Councillor Ho Fu-wing once stated to "Hong Kong 01" that the Hong Kong government's anti-epidemic thinking is "no two ends". It is neither completely laissez-faire like the United Kingdom, the United States and other countries, nor is it strictly tightened like the mainland.
There is no denying the fact that looking back at the Hong Kong government’s anti-epidemic performance in the past year, it is really out of order. If it is still standing around like a wall, I can only wish the people of Hong Kong good luck. But having said that, Hong Kong society is not. Like Europe and the United States, they only focus on the individual, and they don’t pay attention to the collective as in the Mainland. Although the citizens don’t trust the government, they still have a strong sense of self-help. Therefore, it is true that certain practices cannot be copied across the board. Rather, they should be pragmatic and formulate appropriate Hong Kong people’s anti-epidemic policy.
For example, the government stated that it should narrow the blockade to one street or one building, and block testing in a "disruptive" manner. This may be a more suitable mandatory test for the local epidemic at this stage.
At the beginning of the epidemic, many Hong Kong people sneered at the strict and compulsory quarantine in the Mainland, believing that compulsory home bans and tests for all employees violated human rights; but when the epidemic broke out in Europe and America, Hong Kong people would criticize the locals for refusing to wear masks as usual Gather a crowd without awareness of epidemic prevention.
In fact, in the face of a public health crisis, strict measures are necessary, and human rights should also be taken into consideration.
Just as, whenever there are signs of an outbreak in a mainland city, most of the city needs to be banned for 7 days. However, the community in Hong Kong was only partially closed for 48 hours. Circumstances, but also minimize the impact on personal freedom restrictions.
However, it is always difficult to adjust.
As Yuan Guoyong, the Chair Professor of the Department of Microbiology of the University of Hong Kong and the Hong Kong Government’s Epidemic Prevention Expert Advisor, pointed out, once a few cases occur, the area will be closed decisively. Some people will say that it disturbs the people, but if it is too late, others will criticize. The zone is like a steel wire, which is difficult to balance.
Yuan Guoyong said frankly that the closed zone is like a steel line, and it is difficult to achieve a balance. I hope the citizens will understand.
Wise
But this is the end of the matter, and we can only hope that if the SAR government takes one step, it will be able to learn a lesson.
As stated by Liang Zichao, a respiratory specialist, the closure of the area involves many merchants, but the daily flow of people is large and the effect may be limited. Therefore, it is recommended that the government send more sampling vehicles to cooperate with merchants and employees for testing.
This is not unreasonable. If residential buildings are blocked in a centralized manner, door-to-door inspections are carried out from house to house, and supplies are distributed, the time for the ban is as short as possible; and in places where vendors such as fruit stalls are concentrated, they can cooperate with shops to sample on the fly Cars are inspected. I believe everyone will make a wise choice between closing the shop and inspecting.
Stones from other hills, can learn.
Under the epidemic, different regions have different handling styles. Hong Kong can learn from experience and use it for its own purposes.
But whether it is the mainland, which is known for its "hard core," or Europe and the United States represented by the "Buddhism", they should learn from their lessons and constantly improve their anti-epidemic methods.
Although some inland cities were in short supply when the city was closed last year, the form of online purchasing of fresh fruits and vegetables has gradually matured this year. Even if the ban is again banned, the citizens' supply of supplies will be guaranteed.
This is also where Hong Kong should learn-one can learn from one thing.
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