Letters | Hong Kong quarantine: how logistics at Penny’s Bay can be improved to benefit staff and inmates
- Readers discuss the experience at a quarantine centre, the politics of ‘partygate’, and the reality of living in a Covid-fearing city
As I sit in my room at the Penny’s Bay quarantine centre, I reflect on how the logistical difficulties in such a huge compound for over 1,000 inmates might be alleviated.
The room itself is basic, but adequately furnished with two beds, two chairs and two tables. The bathroom looks clean enough after a wipedown with disinfectant. The blanket is warm enough.
The air con, however, functions independently of the remote control. A constant tussle with the thermostat is now my regular exercise.
On my first morning here, I did not receive breakfast despite sending in my meal plan. What I thought to be my breakfast in the cold white bag on my window ledge turned out to be leftovers from the previous night’s dinner. I was surprised that the night’s rubbish had not been collected, but realised what had happened when I was handed a red bag for garbage disposal the next morning.
After repeatedly contacting the meals department and the hotline, I received my meals after 3pm. Two lunchboxes arrived, followed by a third.
I’m not complaining. I feel bad for the workers having to prepare individual meals instead of being able to do everything at one go. It must be tiring hurrying around this huge complex on foot.
The government should consider giving these workers a golf cart, or a tricycle with a carriage, to make deliveries which they now do on foot pushing a trolley. This would increase the number of lunchboxes delivered per trip, lower the number of trips for the workers and increase the chances of food being delivered hot.