The fifth wave of the new crown epidemic has broken out, and the number of people infected and seeking medical treatment is increasing day by day, but not all can take an ambulance or private car to the designated clinics and emergency departments.
The government and the taxi industry will provide free exclusive taxi services from this Friday (18th), and drivers will receive government subsidies.
In fact, all walks of life have the ability to fight the epidemic, it just depends on whether the government knows how to make good use of it and encourage it.
A fleet of about 300 dedicated taxis will transport COVID-19 patients from their residences to and from the seven designated clinics of the Hospital Authority.
Patients need to book an exclusive taxi service. The taxi will not pick up other passengers, and specific signs will be affixed to the body for identification. The driver must wear anti-epidemic equipment and disinfect the cabin throughout the day.
The government will provide subsidies for drivers. Some representatives of the taxi industry said that the subsidy is calculated in the form of a "chartered car" of about $220 per hour, and another said that the subsidy is $3,000 per day.
The dedicated fleet will only pick up those who have made an appointment to the designated clinic, and will not pick up other passengers.
Taxi bodies will also be affixed with specific signs (see Annex) for public identification.
(Photo by the Information Services Department)
driver support patient government car dealership support driver
At the moment of the pandemic, all walks of life must sit in the same boat and go all out to maintain the health of the people.
The transportation industry has a heavy responsibility. When ambulance vehicles are insufficient, taxis are very useful. They can take mildly ill patients to clinics for medical treatment, so as to prevent them from infecting others when they take mass transportation.
It is worthy of respect for drivers to ask for help in times of social crisis. The government must ensure that drivers have sufficient cleaning and protective equipment to reduce the chance of infection.
In the past, the industry complained that the government's anti-epidemic fund support in several rounds was insufficient, and only the first two rounds and the latest sixth round provided fuel and short-term income subsidies to taxi owners and drivers.
This time, the government has set up an exclusive taxi fleet to ensure that participating drivers will receive a certain amount of remuneration, which can also be regarded as a support measure.
It is true that the allowance is not the driver's net income. Costs such as car rental, gas oil and tolls need to be deducted. The actual income is not as much as reported in the anecdotal reports.
Regardless of whether the driver joins the exclusive fleet, it is believed that the impact of the epidemic on the driver is much greater than that of the car owner or the car dealership.
The taxi industry is expected to deploy 300-400 "anti-epidemic taxis" to transport patients to and from designated clinics for treatment.
(file picture)
Business and civil society
The subsidy has made it possible for the exclusive service of taxis to pick up the confirmed patients. Therefore, the government must continue to make good use of its power of hundreds of billions of dollars in financial resources and mobilization of resources to fight the epidemic.
The government has borrowed another 10,000 hotel rooms with the Real Estate Developers Association for quarantine.
As a city manager, the government must also ensure that the overall social and economic situation is stable under the epidemic.
Officials must discuss with real estate developers, and strive for rent reductions for tenants.
Although rent may not be the largest expenditure for merchants, and salaries and food ingredients account for a large proportion, but for the government, the number of real estate developers is limited, and the government is easy to negotiate with them, and the effect of rent reduction is easy to see.
On the contrary, businesses are closing businesses and laying off employees because of rent pressure, and the economy is in a contractionary spiral, and everyone loses.
At the private level, there are more opportunities for citizens to support.
The Association of Community Organizations said that it has recently received more than 20 requests for help from COVID-19 patients who are living alone and elderly people waiting to be quarantined. They need basic supplies, but the organization may not be able to cope. It hopes that the government will cooperate with non-governmental organizations to lend a helping hand.
District Offices should raise resources, coordinate the distribution of supplies to neighbors who are free, and at the same time let the recipients know that the government and society care about their well-being.
President Xi Jinping recently issued an important instruction to the Hong Kong government to "mobilize all mobilized forces and resources" to fight the epidemic.
The SAR government must earnestly assume the main responsibility. The political consideration of the epidemic prevention policy is the social interest.