Editorial | Everyone has to play by coronavirus rules if normality is to be finally achieved
- Hong Kong’s travel bubble with Singapore is likely to be postponed for a second time, a reminder that the opening up of the economy and return to life as it was before Covid-19 requires greater civic-mindedness
Caution has to always be the basis of the Hong Kong government’s strategy to stave off the Covid-19 pandemic. Authorities thankfully seem to be doing that with the city’s first travel bubble, scheduled to begin with Singapore on May 26.
Commerce minister Edward Yau Tang-wah suggested on Friday that the scheme was likely to be postponed for a second time in the face of a recent surge of cases in the island nation and a final decision could be made next week.
Some people are eager to break the monotony of confinement and for the economy to recover, but with the disease as threatening as ever, that cannot be done rashly or prematurely.
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The coronavirus was under control in both cities when the quarantine-free travel scheme was announced on April 26. But Singapore has since recorded dozens of new cases and is battling at least 12 clusters.
There is bound to be disappointment from those looking forward to a resumption of tourism, but prospective travellers from both sides should not be surprised if arrangements are postponed for reasons, as Yau cited, of “absolute precautions”.
The circumstances are the reverse of the previous postponement, made a day before the first bubble was to go ahead on November 22. Then, an outbreak in Hong Kong forced the government’s hand.
This time, Hong Kong has the disease under control, with no untraceable cases having been detected for a week. But as in Singapore, there is concern about worrying variants and mutations that may lead to easier transmission, particularly from stricken India.