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Coronavirus Hong Kong
OpinionLetters

Letters | What Singapore can teach Hong Kong on tackling a Covid-19 surge

  • Readers write about why Hong Kong has more to worry about than the merits of ‘dynamic zero’, their quarantine experience in Shenzhen, disagreements over Covid-19 policy directions in Hong Kong, and the daily test requirement for hospital staff

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Hong Kong residents line up to get tested for the coronavirus at a temporary testing centre on February 7. Failing to bolster GPs’ role in identifying high-risk patients and developing a pervasive self-testing community have resulted in the current strain on Hong Kong’s health care system. Photo: AP
Letters
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Although Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor is committed to a “dynamic zero-infection” Covid-19 strategy, the government is already deviating from the methods adopted by Beijing.
The spike of Omicron cases has again revealed the vulnerabilities of an unbalanced health care system and severely strained the city’s testing capacity, as evident in the lengthy queues and long wait times for those issued with compulsory testing orders. In response, the Centre for Health Protection announced a more targeted testing approach: a building will only be named in the compulsory testing notice when cases were spotted in two units within a short period.
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A Hong Kong delegation led by Chief Secretary John Lee Ka-chiu met mainland officials in Shenzhen on February 12 to seek Beijing’s support in expanding Hong Kong’s testing and quarantine capability, the provision of anti-epidemic supplies, and the supply of fresh food.

While the Hong Kong government has been focused on achieving zero infections to resume border reopening with the mainland, it seems to have neglected the importance of building a resilient and innovative health care system. Failing to bolster general practitioners’ role in identifying high-risk patients and developing a pervasive self-testing community have resulted in the current strain on Hong Kong’s health care system.

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Singapore, for example, focused on pervasive testing and boosting hospital capacity six months ago. To “ring-fence” infections in the community early on, antigen rapid test (ART) kits were distributed to both households and companies. This helped instil a culture of responsibility in regular self-testing. The government ensured a stable supply of these kits at a reasonable price to avoid long queues for tests.

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