
Letters | 3 Covid quarantine policy tweaks Hong Kong should home in on
- The current policy is unlikely to be keeping Hong Kong safer from Covid-19 when everyone is crowded into a 90-100 per cent occupied quarantine hotel
The Hong Kong government has again got itself into a mess and doesn’t have the wherewithal to admit its mistakes and take corrective action. Officials will have to admit their errors eventually, but why does it take so long when obvious measures can be taken immediately?
The policy is self-perpetuating because the government has agreed to subsidise the quarantine hotels if occupancy levels drop.
This policy is unlikely to be keeping Hong Kong safer from Covid-19 when everyone is crowded into a 90-100 per cent occupied quarantine hotel, as compared to having a lower occupancy level for visitors and allowing residents to stay in their own homes under strict quarantine rules.
Hong Kong’s 21-day Covid quarantine violates human rights
Here are my suggestions: First, continue the hotel programme for visitors to Hong Kong and unvaccinated residents, while gradually phasing out the subsidy programme for hotels with lower occupancy levels. This will justify the change in policy that will undoubtedly reduce occupancy levels and allow the hotels to decide whether it is worthwhile to remain in the programme.
J. Herbert, Sai Kung
