Advertisement
Coronavirus Hong Kong
Opinion
SCMP Editorial
SCMP Editorial

Editorial | Lessons Hong Kong learned from Covid-19 must never be forgotten

  • Recent surge in cases emphasises this is not the time for Hong Kong to lower its guard, and it should continue to recognise the worth of health measures and vaccinations

Reading Time:2 minutes
Why you can trust SCMP
6
Patients lie on hospital beds as they wait at a temporary makeshift treatment area outside the Caritas Medical Centre during Hong Kong’s Covid-19 fifth wave in February 2022. Photo: AP
SCMP Editorial
The declaration by the World Health Organization that the Covid-19 global emergency is over has prompted local experts to warn Hongkongers that this is no time to lower their guard, given the threat of infectious diseases continuing to emerge. This is sound public health advice, echoed by Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu at the opening of the Asia Summit on Global Health in Hong Kong on Wednesday. It is also good to hear the government will now review its emergency epidemic prevention and control measures. Hopefully, this will ensure lessons are remembered and put into practice.
The authorities can take into account greater public awareness of, and support for, preventing respiratory diseases including influenza. This is reflected in the findings of a Chinese University study that found more than half of Hongkongers – 72 per cent and 52 per cent respectively – were willing to continue wearing masks indoors in both medical and non-medical settings, as well as using alcohol-based hand sanitisers. About 54 per cent of the 611 respondents were willing to mask up in the workplace and in public outdoor venues. However, the study also found resistance to taking a Covid-19 booster jab, and that worries many public health experts.

A recent surge in severe or fatal coronavirus cases is said to be expected after the border reopening, and lifting of preventive measures such as the mask and testing mandates, and quarantine periods. It does not give rise to serious concern or active consideration of restoring the masks rule. Nonetheless, such a fluctuation in serious cases, waning immunity and the ability of the virus to spin off variants and subvariants is reason enough not to drop our guard.

Government pandemic adviser Professor Lau Yu-lung from the University of Hong Kong said there should be regular emergency surveillance measures, including testing coronavirus levels in sewage and collecting infection data from hospitals and clinics. “We cannot go from one extreme to another, from fear to lying flat and doing nothing,” Lau said. Government pandemic adviser Professor Yuen Kwok-yung said a review of the city’s responses and lessons learned would be essential if it was to be prepared for the next pandemic.

Advertisement

WHO director general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus made a pre-recorded address to the summit in which he called for vigilance against other emerging diseases. Tedros said Covid-19 remained a threat to life and health, making it imperative that the vulnerable get vaccinated or seek booster jabs. His advice was echoed by local experts, including assistant professor Kwok Kin-on, who said the protection offered by vaccination against long Covid – more prevalent among the over-50s – and against reinfection in the Omicron era showed its importance in reducing the need for rehabilitative care.

Advertisement
Select Voice
Choose your listening speed
Get through articles 2x faster
1.25x
250 WPM
Slow
Average
Fast
1.25x