The economic ship is sinking, people are struggling, businesses are being shut and the shadow of gloom and doom surrounds us. Meanwhile, the buoyancy of the stock market , the rush of IPOs and excess liquidity do not reflect the reality on the ground faced by the masses. Stimulus packages and handouts are inadequate measures to address the long-term needs of individuals under duress or the economy. If the economy does not receive a jump start, the strain on financial coffers will come at the expense of taxpayers in the absence of pragmatic, balance-seeking directives. What scientific evidence is there behind the decision to stop dine-in service at restaurants at 6pm and impose a 21-day quarantine ? If a person tests negative at the airport before embarking as well as after disembarking, why quarantine them for three weeks? Why should they be locked up in a cramped hotel room, with little or no fresh air, for that long? Leave alone planning a holiday, even business trips or other necessary travel have become a nightmare. This is especially so for senior citizens who would find the 21-day quarantine most unnatural and unbearable. Such anti-pandemic mandates appear over-exaggerated and must be reconsidered to ensure improved financial health and alleviate the mental toll on people. We need a change of direction from the Hong Kong government, or at least some soul-satisfying answers, so people can aspire for better days to come. Dayal N. Harjani, Ho Man Tin Anti-terror posters too graphic for commuters I refer to the shocking posters that cannot be missed in the Hong Kong MTR. The police no doubt have the best of intentions to be informative in placing their new anti-terrorism posters everywhere in the MTR stations. In fact, though, I find the images extremely disturbing in themselves, injected into our already-stressful daily lives. I wonder if it is really constructive to show us such explicitly agonising imagery. What kind of adult does not instinctively know to run and hide when they see a threatening person detonating bombs in a parking garage just like in the movies? Bob Mocarsky, Sai Ying Pun