Editorial | Latest rules have to be respected if virus infections are to fall in Hong Kong
- The tightening of social-distancing measures by the government is to be welcomed as Hong Kong reaches tipping point and Covid-19 cases mount
The latest unnerving daily total of more than 50 Covid-19 cases – one of the largest since the infection emerged in Hong Kong early this year – has finally prompted more decisive action from the government to prevent the third coronavirus wave from becoming a major outbreak. It is overdue. Postponement of the city’s high-profile annual book fair yesterday on the advice of government officials was a good start.
More importantly, however, the drastic tightening of social-distancing measures announced by Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor last night must be maintained until the surge in infections across the city, including an increasing number of local and untraceable cases, is suppressed.
They include a ban on dining in at restaurants from 6pm to 5am, mandatory wearing of face masks on public transport, a reduction in the limit on public gatherings from 50 people to four, a cap of four people at restaurant tables, and the shutdown of various premises, including gyms.
With a senior government medical official admitting the pandemic was “getting a bit out of hand”, Hong Kong could no longer afford any indecision or mishandling of the crisis or delay in policymaking. This applied in particular to the government’s social-distancing strategy. If the city were too slow to act on this issue, it could face an explosion in the number of cases within days.
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Hong Kong battles third wave of coronavirus infections
We are at a tipping point. The government faced a balancing act between protecting businesses and staving off the virus.
