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Letters | Hong Kong coronavirus: government policies defy science and basic humanity
- There are pressing questions over whether the measures adopted by the government are proportionate to the problems they are meant to address
- In blocking arrivals, the government has shifted the responsibility to students, parents, schools, airlines and hotels to deal with the mess
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During the past year or so, the race to curb Covid-19 to meet requirements for reopening borders with the mainland has left people in this city little room to question pandemic-related policies. Here in Hong Kong, success in controlling the virus has become the yardstick for good governance.
But one has to ask if the measures adopted are proportionate to the problems they are meant to address. In what ways do these policies follow the science? Have policymakers tried to balance different interests, factoring in people’s livelihood, mental health and basic freedoms?
As pointed out by a reader in his letter on June 25, Hong Kong’s 21-day quarantine policy is not supported by scientific evidence. The incubation period of the virus, as maintained by the World Health Organization, is 14 days. Furthermore, the ban on UK arrivals effective from July 1 is also controversial. Your editorial on June 29 cites safeguarding economic recovery as the reason behind such measure.
While this is partly true, such an argument disguises and justifies the avoidance approach of our government. Instead of tackling the problem responsibly and allowing residents to return – in particular the thousands of students studying in Britain – while controlling the spread of the disease at the same time, those in power opted for the easier option of blocking travellers and residents from entering the city.
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In doing so, the government shifted the responsibility to students, parents, schools, airlines and hotels to deal with the mess. A responsible, capable government would have provided some kind of support to its people. Sadly, Hongkongers are left having to help themselves.
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Hong Kong to ban all travellers from UK to try and block Covid-19 Delta variant
Hong Kong to ban all travellers from UK to try and block Covid-19 Delta variant
Even before the flight ban, arrivals from Britain had to undergo 21 days of hotel quarantine regardless of whether they were vaccinated. The science suggests the Pfizer-BioNTech jab is 88 per cent effective against the Delta variant. While the Hong Kong government is preaching the efficacy of vaccines, it is also putting twice-jabbed people coming from the UK in 21-day hotel quarantine. Again, is the response proportionate to the problem?
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