The authorities earlier stipulated that before entering and exiting public facilities under different government departments, the headquarters of the Hospital Authority, and the administrative buildings of public hospitals, the QR code of the place must be scanned using the "Travel with Peace" app.
More than one week after the policy took effect, except for the first day, five people were arrested on suspicion of entering the Wan Chai Immigration Building using false "Travel with peace of mind". Since then, no more violations have occurred in places requiring mandatory use of "Travel with peace of mind". middle.
However, it is still too early to say that society has fully adapted to the new normal, because there are still loopholes in the entire set of operations that require citizens to use "safe travel".
In order to protect their privacy, some citizens choose to buy new mobile phones to install and use "Travel with peace of mind"; in addition, some citizens choose to move to other alternative places that do not require mandatory use of "Travel with peace of mind", such as switching from the original to public market shopping. For patronizing roadside shops.
However, compared with the above-mentioned response methods of the public, the implementation of the policy itself actually has very serious loopholes.
Insufficient execution of frontline staff
The compulsory use of "safe travel" measures was originally intended to help citizens adapt more effectively to anti-epidemic fatigue and further optimize traceability work, especially for high-risk places such as hospitals that are crowded and have the characteristics of confluence. Once a confirmed person visits, traceability work It becomes more difficult, so this whereabouts record is particularly important, and front-line staff responsible for performing related tasks should naturally remain vigilant and remind visitors to use "Travel with peace of mind."
Recently, however, some media found that in some public facilities that require mandatory use of "Travel with peace of mind", frontline employees with guards did not strictly require those entering the premises to use the "Travel with peace of mind" app to scan the QR code, and at the same time, they did not actively The inspection of citizens' mobile phones will undoubtedly damage the effectiveness and credibility of the whole set of measures, and may also give citizens the illusion that they can be perfunctory.
Penalties need to be strengthened
In addition to the ineffective implementation of frontline staff, the policy of compulsory use of "travel with peace of mind" in public places has no corresponding laws and regulations. Its nature is purely an administrative regulation of the SAR government.
Among the different regulations currently enacted under the "Prevention and Control of Diseases Ordinance", in fact, there is no direct requirement for frontline workers to enter government facilities without any legal consequences. Even those citizens who enter government facilities like this seem to have no choice but to The prosecution is based on the crime of "nuisance" under the Summary Offences Ordinance or the crime of "loitering" under the Criminal Offences Ordinance.
Since citizens entering relevant places without scanning the code may not necessarily be punished, it is inevitable that some people think that they can risk "stealing chickens", which is unfair to citizens who abide by the policy.
The authorities should come up with solutions as soon as possible, fill loopholes in the measures, increase penalties to enhance deterrence, and require front-line staff to strictly observe their duties and check the "Travel with Peace" application of those who enter the venue.
