‘Waste of resources’: self-isolating Hongkongers slam handout of Covid-19 supplies as slow and disorganised
- Pro-Beijing newspaper says disorganised distribution of supplies leaves patients like soldiers ‘going to the battlefield without bullets’
- Beijing showing signs it is ‘not pleased’ with performance of Hong Kong government, according to think tank vice-president
Jacky Chan was surprised to see an anti-epidemic kit packed with six rapid antigen test kits, a thermometer, masks and an outdated guideline for Covid-19 patients hanging on his door last week, 10 days after he first reported his infection to health authorities in Hong Kong.
The kit would have been somewhat welcomed if the 32-year-old had not already recovered from his illness and gone back to living his normal life.
“It was a complete waste of resources,” Chan said. “The package never comes when you need it the most, not to mention that there was no patent medicine or food included.”
While Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor on Sunday acknowledged delays in delivering resources to an estimated 300,000 people undergoing isolation at home, her admission provides little relief to homebound infected residents struggling with the lack of necessities.
Both a pro-Beijing newspaper and politician have joined residents in accusing the government of being too slow and disorganised in distributing the anti-epidemic supplies.
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Many supplies had been stockpiled for the now-postponed mass testing exercise, said lawmaker Vincent Cheng Wing-shun, a member of the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong.
“If the government has decided to postpone the screening, it would be much better if they distribute [anti-epidemic supplies] to the public first,” he said. “A maximum two-day wait is more than enough, and more manpower and resources should be poured in to assist with the distribution.”
The pro-Beijing Ta Kung Pao newspaper accused government departments of failing to make the best use of resources sent from mainland China, pointing to an announcement on Sunday by health minister Sophia Chan Siu-chee that pulse oximeters would be included in anti-epidemic kits distributed to the public.
“But Hong Kong had already received 410,000 sets of oximeters from the mainland in early March, which means departments were 10 days late for the distribution,” it said in an editorial published on Monday.
“The city has this valuable equipment but they are not sent to those in need in time. It is like a soldier going to the battlefield without bullets. How can we fight this battle?”
The newspaper also urged the government to change its bureaucratic mindset and mobilise all 180,000 civil servants to ensure materials were distributed on time.
On Friday, Xia Baolong, director of the State Council’s Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office, called on local authorities to improve departmental coordination and treatment capabilities. The government should ensure the proper use of aid materials sent by the mainland and the isolation facilities it had helped to build, he said.
Xia’s warning was “stronger” than previous suggestions for departmental cooperation from mainland epidemiologist Liang Wannian, said Lau Siu-kai, vice-president of the semi-official Chinese Association of Hong Kong and Macau Studies think tank.
“Beijing is not pleased with the performance of the Hong Kong government, and it is acting too slowly,” he said. “Beijing insists that Hong Kong should solve its own problems, while the central government has used all the resources available to help Hong Kong out, but the outcome is just not satisfactory.”
Hong Kong sought help from the mainland in early February as coronavirus cases began to surge, with the Post finding that the first batch of medical supplies arrived in the city on February 19.
As of Sunday, the government has received more than 68 million test kits, over 160 million surgical or KN95 masks, 450,000 boxes of Chinese medicine and more than 1 million pulse oximeters, alongside millions of other items of protective equipment.
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In previous press conferences, local officials have said that supplies were quickly distributed via government departments to the pro-Beijing group Hong Kong Community Anti-Coronavirus Link and other local organisations.
But Link convenor Bunny Chan Chung-bun said their volunteers could only give out supplies to residents in high-risk areas, while government departments were responsible for distributing anti-epidemic kits to people in self-isolation.
“The government has a consensus with us that since our staff are mostly volunteers, it would be better to leave the allocation of anti-epidemic kits to the civil servants so they can be distributed on time,” he told the Post. “We are more on giving out free supplies donated by companies and organisations.”
The convenor also said supplies were dependent on donations, with most going to low-income districts or high-risk areas where sewage water had tested positive for the coronavirus.
In response to the delays, Lam pledged on Sunday to step up efforts to hand out supplies but did not set out a timeline for the distribution of anti-epidemic kits.
She said more civil servants had been recruited to boost the daily distribution of anti-epidemic kits to about 60,000, up from 10,000.
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The number of telephone lines dedicated to handling Covid-related medical inquiries would also be increased from 280 to 550, acting home affair minister Jack Chan Jick-chi told a radio programme on Monday. He added a mobile application would be introduced for residents to request help.
Chan said distribution could be further expanded using volunteers and couriers but told residents to also rely on their family and friends for less urgent needs.
“Those under home isolation should try their best to ask relatives and friends to buy supplies on their behalf, and leave the door-to-door delivery service to those who really need it.”
Authorities pledged to add paracetamol and pulse oximeters to the kits, a move that the public has criticised as too late in comparison to countries such as Singapore.
Beginning in 2020, Singaporean NGO the Temasek Foundation distributed oximeters to foreign domestic workers living in dormitories, with the measure being extended to all households in the city last June.
Additional reporting by Erika Na
