Letters | Hong Kong’s East-West fusion of Covid-19 strategies gets us nowhere
- Readers discuss Hong Kong’s melting pot approach to Covid-19 containment, Hongkongers’ need for hope, the logic behind social distancing restrictions, and the importance of emotional support during these trying times
This strange jumbling of Western and Chinese methods is not unlike our splendid fusion of East and West, which has worked for us in tourism, attracting millions to our city pre-Covid to experience this melting pot of cultures, but it is highly doubtful that any tourist would want to experience a fusion of Western and Chinese-style lockdowns, compulsory testing orders, quarantine centres or at-home isolation.
The central and Guangdong provincial governments are clearly willing to support Hong Kong in pandemic control efforts, so if we truly want to reopen the border we need to ask for their help to increase testing capacity, implement lockdowns and mass testing, construct makeshift hospitals and quarantine facilities, and implement a local health code system to be used to enter most public facilities including public transport with the help of mainland experts.
If the Hong Kong government does not consider this feasible, then it becomes pointless to pursue a laxer version of the dynamic zero-infection strategy, and it would be better to abandon this altogether and reopen gradually to the rest of the world with a “living with Covid” strategy.