Hong Kong fourth wave: South Asian residents, concern groups outraged over official’s coronavirus remarks

Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor has sought to reassure members of ethnic minority groups caught up in an escalating Covid-19 outbreak in Hong Kong’s Yau Tsim Mong district that they have not been targeted based on race or ethnicity, after an outcry sparked by a health official’s suggestion that their “behaviour put them at risk”.

“There is absolutely no suggestion of the spread of disease relating to race or ethnicity,” Lam said on Tuesday. “If there is any misunderstanding arising from any remarks made by any officials, I made it absolutely clear here.”

South Asian residents and concern groups have expressed outrage over the remarks made by Raymond Ho Lei-ming, a senior official from the Centre for Health Protection.

“They have many family gatherings and like to gather with fellow countrymen,” Ho said on Monday. “They like to share food, smoke, drink alcohol and chat together. If it is without masks, the risk is high. They also need to share sanitary facilities with neighbours if the living environment is crowded.”

Health authorities also noted that a quarter of the 661 confirmed local cases since January 4 involved members of ethnic minority groups, predominantly Nepalese and Indian residents, many of whom lived in Yau Tsim Mong.

But at the press briefing before the weekly meeting of her de facto cabinet, the Executive Council, Lam stressed that social behaviour, living conditions and workplace hygiene were all important factors that could make certain residents more vulnerable to the virus, which had nothing to do with ethnicity.

Speaking later, Undersecretary for Food and Health Dr Chui Tak-yi dodged the question of whether the government would apologise for Ho’s remarks.