Editorial | Social restrictions can only be relaxed when virus is under control
- Extension of rules for Hong Kong is the correct action to take amid worrying new variants, untraceable sources and impact of festive season celebrations still to be reflected in daily infection totals
Schools will be given more leeway to hold in-person classes, although online lessons will remain the main form of teaching until at least after Lunar New Year. Social-distancing and anti-epidemic measures are the tightest yet and will continue to have a heavy impact on businesses such as restaurants, bars, entertainment venues, fitness centres and beauty parlours. But with the risk of a rebound in cases high, a tight lid has to be kept on circumstances.
Vaccines are gradually being rolled out and Hong Kong is expected to receive its first batches this month. It could be a year or more before enough doses have been produced and the 70 to 80 per cent of populations in countries are vaccinated to bring about herd immunity. But highly virulent new strains from Britain and South Africa are already making their way around the world and have been detected in the region, and scientists are unsure whether the variants may undermine the effectiveness of immunisation.
