Hong Kong health crisis justifies emergency law but care must be taken
- Overuse of colonial-era ordinance should be avoided, even if it has cleared the way for hundreds of welcome mainland health workers to join Covid-19 battle
Hong Kong’s public health system has been overwhelmed and is in desperate need of help as the fifth wave of Covid-19 continues to escalate and the death toll mounts. The city should, therefore, welcome the hundreds of medical staff arriving from the mainland to work at hurriedly constructed treatment and isolation facilities.
Our hospitals will not be able to cope with the huge demand without their assistance.
But the swift importation of this much-needed expertise is only possible because legal obstacles were overcome. Normally, doctors and nurses from outside Hong Kong would be subject to strict licensing requirements.
The government swept these restrictions away by using the Emergency Regulations Ordinance. This is a sweeping colonial-era law enacted in 1922, and it can be used at a time of emergency or public danger.
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There is little doubt that Hong Kong is currently facing such a crisis.