The fifth wave of the epidemic is severe, resulting in long queues at testing stations in various districts on weekends. Some testing stations have more than 1,000 citizens waiting in the open air for many hours in severe cold weather.
In the face of this worrying wave of the epidemic in Hong Kong, every citizen should of course do their part in testing to stop the spread of the virus as soon as possible, so that the epidemic can be brought under control as soon as possible.
However, waiting hours on weekends is far from ideal.
Especially since the epidemic has jumped to more than 600 new diagnoses in a single day, and it is expected to increase exponentially, should citizens continue to wait in long queues for testing in the next few weeks, and various economic activities will be restricted indefinitely? ?
It has been more than two years since the outbreak of the epidemic, and the problem of overcapacity of testing stations has occurred many times. However, the government has still not been able to meet the needs brought about by the development of the epidemic. The results show that they did not predict the anti-epidemic strategy in Hong Kong today. what is.
If the government only understands the importance of "fighting the epidemic with strictness" and lacks overall thinking, and cannot even understand the importance of "fighting the epidemic with the people", before this battle is over, only the entire Hong Kong society and countless others who have already lost due to various The general public who are exhausted by the type of epidemic prevention measures.
At the mobile testing station in Sha Tin Town Hall Plaza, which the government added a few days ago (4th), "snake cakes" also appeared in front of the 100-step ladder, and the crowd of people extended to the back of the library for a while.
(Photo by Lu Nuojun)
Epidemic prevention thinking that lacks overall awareness
There is nothing wrong with the SAR Government's thinking of "fighting the epidemic strictly", and it deserves recognition from the community.
Because of various conditions and factors in Hong Kong, it is still impossible to "coexist with the virus", especially the vaccination rate of the first dose of the vaccine is only over 80%, and the vaccination rate in some age groups is only about 30%.
If we rashly further relax various epidemic prevention regulations, it is always difficult to imagine the impact the epidemic can have on Hong Kong.
Although the virus Omicron is raging, most of the patients are only mild cases, but the epidemic prevention policy must also take into account the safety of the elderly and the weak in society.
However, most citizens also want to know what the government's current epidemic prevention goals are?
Are we still aiming for "zeroing" or "dynamic zeroing"?
Or are we just waiting for vaccination rates to reach a certain level before turning to an aggressive coexistence strategy?
If the government can only take drastic measures to deal with it without giving a complete statement, it will naturally give people a sense of loss.
The Secretary for Food and Health, Sophia Chan.
(File photo/Photo by Liao Yanxiong)
The strategy should be adjusted according to the situation
Judging from the daily number of confirmed cases and even the cases that cannot be traced to the source, it is unrealistic to aim for "zero" today, but if Hong Kong is moving towards "coexisting with the virus", it does not seem to be the government's orientation .
As a result, as stated by Executive Council member Lam Ching-choi and others, the society simply does not understand what kind of message the government is sending out, and the citizens are already "fatigued against the epidemic", but they are helpless with no direction.
On Monday (7th), there were 614 new confirmed cases in Hong Kong, and the initial confirmed cases reached about 600. These figures seem to show that no matter how strict the epidemic prevention measures are, they are not enough to deal with the spread of the epidemic.
Moreover, after the ban on dine-in in the evening market, the number of people per table has decreased, but the data still shows that the virus spreads through other channels.
The government should then reconsider whether the measures taken to deal with the earlier waves of the epidemic are applicable to today's development.
When the virus faced by Hong Kong has evolved into "high transmission, more obvious symptoms, and less severe disease", the response methods of the earlier waves should not be taken for granted as meeting today's needs.
The ban on dine-in dinner in the evening market will be temporarily scheduled for two weeks from January 7. There are only one "Jitai" left in the restaurant at night, and the restaurant has turned to takeaway to attract customers with discounts.
(Photo by Luo Guohui)
Therefore, the SAR government needs to re-evaluate Hong Kong's anti-epidemic line at this moment.
The most direct approach is to draw out an appropriate response timetable and roadmap based on the current understanding and data on the virus, including what vaccination rate ratios Hong Kong society should aim for.
If the epidemic cannot be cleared within a certain period of time, will the government gradually allow citizens to maintain part of their economic activities to fight the epidemic together?
Regardless of the route, the planning and interpretation skills of government officials will be tested.
Hong Kong does not have the conditions to "coexist with the virus" and the implementation of the vaccine passport must be in place. Is it really too expensive?
Do government officials understand how citizens feel?
Early promotion of the third dose of epidemic prevention must take precautionary measures. Migrant workers must not become victims of forced inspections.