Hong Kong cannot 'die with the virus'

The fifth wave of the epidemic has worsened, the number of confirmed diagnoses has repeatedly hit new highs, and the discussion around the anti-epidemic route has become more and more heated.

Former Legislative Council President Tsang Yok-sing recently pointed out that the current policy discussion is politicized. He believes that the economic cost of Hong Kong's long-term dynamic zero policy direction is too high. The purpose is to make the virus endemic in an orderly manner.

Jasper Tsang also questioned that if the "pure land" was maintained for a long time, the immunity of the people would not be as good as that of people in widely infected areas.

It is true that the situation in Hong Kong is different from that of the Mainland, and it is impossible to completely copy the Mainland's one.

However, some current discussions on epidemic prevention policies are indeed overly politicized, and there is a misunderstanding of the concept of "coexistence".

However, the theory of "coexistence with the virus" he represents is debatable. As long as we rationally analyze the unique situation of Hong Kong, we know that now is not the time to talk about "coexistence with the virus".

DAB Chairman Tsang Yok-sing.

(Photo by Lu Yiming/File photo)

Living with the virus also has economic costs

The main argument in favor of "coexistence" is that the economic costs are high.

As an international financial center, Hong Kong's exchanges with other parts of the world are very important.

In the past two years, many foreign-funded enterprises have been dissatisfied with the strict customs control in Hong Kong, and some have even threatened to withdraw from Hong Kong.

However, the sword is double-edged, and the other side of satisfying foreign investment is to cut off the possibility of customs clearance with the mainland.

As long as the mainland still adheres to the zero-clearing policy, it is impossible to accept the customs clearance of Hong Kong that "coexists with the virus".

Whether foreign investment or the mainland is more important to Hong Kong's economy cannot be easily calculated, but it is certain that the economic cost of choosing to coexist may not be lower than zero.

Many people may be tired of fighting the epidemic and don't know how long they will fight the epidemic, so they support "coexistence".

It is true that mankind cannot eliminate the new crown, and will "coexist" with it at some point in the future.

Even the official experts in the mainland do not think it can be cleared forever.

But coexistence eventually does not mean coexistence now.

The premise of coexistence is that the virus will not pose an important threat to human life, otherwise it will be "co-death" rather than "co-existence".

The threat of the Omicron variant is lower than that of the Delta variant, but it is nowhere near the level of endemic diseases.

In the fifth wave of the epidemic in Hong Kong alone, many elderly people have died from the disease. Recently, a 4-year-old child died of acute illness and tested positive for the new crown.

According to statistics, the average daily death toll in the United States in the past week was around 2,400, and the number of people who died of Omicron variants in the United States in the past three months has exceeded the number of people who died of Delta last fall.

The vaccination rates in the United States and Hong Kong are similar. If the death rate in the United States is put in Hong Kong, that is, at least 53 people will die every day in Hong Kong at its peak.

How can such a dangerous virus be called "flu" or "endemic disease"?

How can society ignore human life?

The epidemic is severe, and many buildings are to be enclosed.

(Photo by Luo Junhao)

No premise "Coexistence"

Jasper Tsang said that coexisting with the virus does not mean doing nothing to "lie down", and that it can be released from time to time to achieve the ultimate immunization of the whole people.

If the epidemic subsided a few months ago, it may have been reasonable to say that, but the current epidemic has fully erupted, and the medical manpower and resources are seriously lacking.

The government said it estimated that thousands of patients were waiting to be admitted to the hospital, and two elderly people were not sent to the hospital until they passed away. The initial diagnosis was discovered after their death. It can be seen that there is no room to relax epidemic prevention restrictions.

Moreover, the outbreak of the fifth wave itself came from a small loophole in the airport, but it spread so quickly, which also reflects the "coexistence theory" that it is extremely difficult to control the timing, and sometimes it is a little more powerful. enough to have serious consequences.

Although the government has adopted a multi-pronged approach recently, only 74.1% of people in Hong Kong have been vaccinated, which is still far behind the nearly 90% vaccination rate in Singapore, which chose to coexist with the virus in the early days.

It is better to say "living with the virus" now than to encourage vaccination as soon as possible to save the medical system that cannot cope with the current epidemic.

At the critical moment of the epidemic, policy making must have rules and regulations, use data and a rational view on vaccinations, miss the window of epidemic prevention, and govern without foresight. The government should use all resources to fight the epidemic. The Hong Kong government must not surrender to the epidemic.