Arriving in Hong Kong from the mainland on January 1, I went through six rounds of Covid-19 testing as part of the Come2hk scheme . My first test at Shek Tong Tsui Sports Centre coincided with a compulsory testing order on a local building. I stood in queue, double masked, while the line itself was like a gigantic Snake game. It was a good half- hour wait before one got the test done. Thankfully, the stadium was largely empty on my subsequent visits, with almost no waiting time. That the city’s current measures against Omicron are unsustainable seems no longer debatable, with three-digit infections for consecutive days and untraceable cases on the rise. The biggest problem with Hong Kong’s Covid-19 measures is the gap between ambitious goals and limited execution skills. Culturally and politically, Hong Kong lacks the conditions to implement large-scale virus screening and airtight contact tracing on par with the mainland. Its implementation of the “dynamic zero infection” strategy relies more on people’s sense of responsibility and demands creativity from the government. A key issue with the current testing and isolation scheme is its punitive nature. For a Hongkonger with mild Covid-like symptoms, volunteering for a test requires one to entertain the possibility of a positive Covid-19 result that mandates being sent to Penny’s Bay together with their families and colleagues. Apart from the hiccups at the quarantine centre, the social stigma is enough to deter people from getting tested. The recent grievances of Kwai Chung Estate residents shed light on another important deterrent to anyone considering voluntary testing – the risk of getting infected during the testing process. While some have been arguing for switching to living with the virus, instead of such a drastic step, why not refine our policy? We need a scheme that is both compensatory and punitive. For instance, to monitor silent transmission chains in the society, the government could conduct random sampling across Hong Kong by offering supermarket or restaurant coupons to randomly selected residents who agree to participate. This is an economical alternative to massive citywide screening aided by the central government that, going by the previous experience, could have a low turnout. To motivate potential cases to reveal themselves, a reward scheme could be set up so that people who volunteer to get tested in a community testing centre and are found to be Covid-positive receive a large subsidy and are sent to a designated hotel with free food and accommodation. Their close contacts could be rewarded or punished depending on the degree of voluntariness and how much time they take to report themselves to the health authority. Such measures could not only aid the identification of potential cases but also boost consumption and help the tertiary sector that has been punished by the restrictive measures. Bingchen Wang, Sai Wan ‘Zero-Covid’ policy leaves cross-border kids behind In Hong Kong, “reunification” with the motherland is often mentioned, but the city’s stringent “zero-Covid” policy tells another story. Before the pandemic, 27,000 students would cross the border daily to attend school in Hong Kong, but these days, these students turn on their electronic devices instead and listen to their classes with limited participation or support. The new “dynamic” policy is only going to worsen this situation since the word “dynamic” only suggests that things are changing, and from experience, that more stringent rules are on their way. The new vaccine pass scheme to take effect on February 24 will include schools . Although it is a merely a way to encourage parents, guardians, carers and helpers to get vaccinated and to punish those who aren’t, since teachers already boast a vaccination rate of 95 per cent, one must wonder how these rules are going to be enforced. Are the vaccine-hesitant elderly going to be standing at the gates shouting for their grandchild to come to them while security guards in full protective gear hold them back? Meanwhile, cross-border students will just need to press “log out” to finish their day of school. Let’s hope that these students will be prioritised if the border ever gets reopened. Although, I’m not holding my breath. Lee Ross, Kowloon City