Hong Kong’s zero-tolerance approach towards the coronavirus has been highly effective; there has been no local community outbreak for seven months. But maintaining that standard so that travel to the rest of China goes ahead unimpeded and restrictions on daily activities are eventually relaxed requires a prevention strategy that is as watertight as possible.
The case of an unvaccinated passenger stranded at the airport for four days testing positive shows that there can still be loopholes despite almost two years of the Covid-19 pandemic. New measures have been promptly put in place and it is to be hoped that none of the people who were in contact with the man and put into quarantine have been infected.
The 38-year-old had been staying in the Tai Kok Tsui area before leaving for Africa on November 8. He returned on November 24 from Nigeria via Qatar, but was unable to board a plane for an onward flight due to visa issues.
During transit, he stayed in a designated area watched by security guards wearing protective clothing. As a result of his being found positive during pre-boarding screening on November 28, at least 16 airport workers were quarantined and compulsory testing ordered in parts of the city where he stayed or visited during the incubation period.
The city’s Covid-19 response has not always been smooth, as imported infections due to an oversight of at-risk activities or situations showed. Two cargo pilots who arrived from Germany last month and tested positive after returning to their homes proved the point; they had been exempt from quarantine.
Stricter requirements are now in place, as has now happened for transit passengers. All those from overseas or Taiwan must present negative coronavirus test results within 72 hours of flying to Hong Kong, leave within 24 hours and if unable to do so will be confined to a smaller isolation zone.
Rules and restrictions have to be well thought out to prevent outbreaks. The detection of the infected transit passenger proves that part of the system is working; that he could have passed the virus to others shows there was an oversight.
Regular reviews are necessary to ensure that with the virus constantly evolving, there are no gaps.