bodyType

customContents

entityId

printArticlePageQuery

filter

article

body

urlAlias

articleSectionsContent

articleSeoArticle

articleSourceHeaderArticle

contentSchemaRenderContent

contentSubHeadlineContent

contentHeadlineContent

mainImagePrintArticleArticle

authorBlockPrintArticleArticle

contentSponsorTagContent

articlePianoPaywallContent

scmpYoutubeContent

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

query printArticlePageQuery(
  $entityId: String!
  $customContents: [CustomContentInput]
  $bodyType: BodyFormatTypeEnum
) {
  article(filter: {entityId: $entityId}) {
    entityId
    body(customContents: $customContents, type: $bodyType) {
      json
    }
    urlAlias
    ...articleSectionsContent
    ...articleSeoArticle_3o8td4
    ...articleSourceHeaderArticle
    ...contentSchemaRenderContent
    ...contentSubHeadlineContent
    ...contentHeadlineContent
    ...mainImagePrintArticleArticle
    ...authorBlockPrintArticleArticle
    ...contentSponsorTagContent
    ...articlePianoPaywallContent
    ...scmpYoutubeContent
    ...hooksTrackPageViewArticle
    id
  }
}

fragment articlePianoPaywallContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  ...hooksPaywallPromiseContent
}

fragment articleSectionsContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  sections {
    value {
      ...helpersCheckIfNewsSectionInFirstIndexSection
      ...entityLink
      name
      id
    }
  }
}

fragment articleSeoArticle_3o8td4 on Article {
  ...hooksArticleSeoArticle
  ...helpersCheckIsPostiesArticle
  ...helpersGetArticleTypeArticle
  entityId
  publishedDate
  updatedDate
  summary {
    text
  }
  subHeadline {
    text
  }
  body(customContents: $customContents, type: $bodyType) {
    text
  }
  keywords
  sections {
    value {
      name
      id
    }
  }
  topics {
    name
    entityId
    id
  }
  urlAlias
  authors {
    name
    id
  }
  images {
    style(filter: {style: "768x768"}) {
      url
    }
  }
  readingTime
}

fragment articleSourceHeaderArticle on Article {
  urlAlias
  ...entityLink
}

fragment authorBlockPrintArticleArticle on Article {
  ...defaultArticleDateContent
  ...authorNamesArticle
}

fragment authorNameAuthor on Author {
  ...entityLink
  name
  entityUuid
}

fragment authorNamesArticle on Article {
  authorLocations
  authors {
    entityId
    location
    ...authorNameAuthor
    id
  }
}

fragment blockquoteQuoteContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  ...contentShareWidgetContent
}

fragment checkersCheckContentContainsStarlingImageContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  topics {
    entityId
    id
  }
}

fragment contentHeadlineContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  headline
  socialHeadline
  ...contentHeadlineTagContent
  ...helpersUseContentSponsorContent
}

fragment contentHeadlineTagContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  ...hooksContentHeadlineTagContent
}

fragment contentNewsletterWidgetContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  topics {
    relatedNewsletters {
      ...helpersMassageToNewsletterItemNewsletter
      id
    }
    id
  }
  sections {
    value {
      relatedNewsletters {
        ...helpersMassageToNewsletterItemNewsletter
        id
      }
      id
    }
  }
  ... on Article {
    relatedNewsletters {
      ...helpersMassageToNewsletterItemNewsletter
      id
    }
  }
}

fragment contentSchemaRenderContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  ...blockquoteQuoteContent
  ...imageContent
  ...inlineWidgetContent
  ...photoGalleryWidgetContent
  ...scmpYoutubeContent
}

fragment contentShareWidgetContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  entityId
  urlAlias
  shortUrl
  socialHeadline
  headline
}

fragment contentSponsorTagContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  ...helpersUseContentSponsorContent
}

fragment contentSubHeadlineContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  subHeadline {
    json
  }
  summary {
    json
  }
  ...contentSchemaRenderContent
}

fragment defaultArticleDateContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  ...hooksArticleDateUtilsContent
}

fragment entityLink on BaseWithApplicationAndUrlAlias {
  __isBaseWithApplicationAndUrlAlias: __typename
  __typename
  entityId
  entityUuid
  urlAlias
  urlRedirect {
    toUrl
    id
  }
  application {
    entityId
    id
  }
  ... on Section {
    fullSectionPath {
      entityId
      id
    }
    parentSection
  }
  ...helpersAppBarVariantBase
  ...helpersApplicationBase
  ...helpersCheckIsPlusArticle
  ...helpersStyleSectionContent
}

fragment helpersAppBarVariantBase on BaseWithApplicationAndUrlAlias {
  __isBaseWithApplicationAndUrlAlias: __typename
  ...helpersCheckIsLiveArticle
  ...helpersCheckIsPlusPage
  ...helpersCheckIsPostiesArticle
  ...helpersCheckIsPostiesPage
  ...helpersCheckIsPostMagazineArticle
  ...helpersCheckIsStyleArticle
  ...helpersSectionContent
  ...helpersStyleSectionContent
}

fragment helpersApplicationBase on BaseWithApplicationAndUrlAlias {
  __isBaseWithApplicationAndUrlAlias: __typename
  ...helpersCheckIsPostiesArticle
  ...helpersCheckIsPostiesPage
  ...helpersCheckIsPlusPage
}

fragment helpersCheckIfNewsSectionInFirstIndexSection on Section {
  name
}

fragment helpersCheckIsAmpEnabledArticle on Article {
  entityId
  types {
    value {
      entityId
      id
    }
  }
  sections {
    value {
      entityId
      id
    }
  }
  disableOffPlatformContent
  sponsorType
  published
  ...helpersCheckIsPlusArticle
  ...helpersCheckIsPostiesArticle
}

fragment helpersCheckIsLiveArticle on Article {
  flattenTypeIds
  liveArticle {
    status
    id
  }
}

fragment helpersCheckIsMainTopicContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  topics {
    entityId
    id
  }
}

fragment helpersCheckIsPlusArticle on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  ... on Article {
    paywallTypes {
      entityUuid
      id
    }
  }
}

fragment helpersCheckIsPlusPage on Page {
  urlAlias
}

fragment helpersCheckIsPostMagazineArticle on Article {
  sections {
    value {
      entityId
      id
    }
  }
}

fragment helpersCheckIsPostiesArticle on Article {
  sections {
    value {
      entityId
      id
    }
  }
}

fragment helpersCheckIsPostiesPage on Page {
  urlAlias
}

fragment helpersCheckIsStyleArticle on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  sections {
    value {
      entityId
      id
    }
  }
}

fragment helpersGetArticleTypeArticle on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  ... on Article {
    types {
      value {
        entityId
        id
      }
    }
  }
}

fragment helpersMassageToNewsletterItemNewsletter on Newsletter {
  entityId
  name
  alternativeName
  description {
    text
  }
  summary {
    text
  }
  homepageDescription {
    text
  }
}

fragment helpersSanitizeArticleTypeEntityIdsArticle on Article {
  types {
    value {
      entityId
      id
    }
  }
}

fragment helpersSanitizeAuthorTypesArticle on Article {
  authors {
    types
    id
  }
}

fragment helpersSanitizedAuthorEntityIdsArticle on Article {
  authors {
    entityId
    id
  }
}

fragment helpersSectionContent on Section {
  fullSectionPath {
    entityId
    id
  }
}

fragment helpersStyleSectionContent on Section {
  fullSectionPath {
    entityId
    id
  }
}

fragment helpersUseContentSponsorContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  topics {
    entityId
    sponsor {
      ...sponsorTagSponsor
      name
      type
      id
    }
    id
  }
  ... on Article {
    sponsorType
  }
  ...helpersCheckIsMainTopicContent
}

fragment hooksArticleDateUtilsContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  createdDate
  publishedDate
  updatedDate
}

fragment hooksArticleSeoArticle on Article {
  ...helpersCheckIsPostiesArticle
  ...helpersCheckIsPostMagazineArticle
  ...helpersCheckIsStyleArticle
  ...hooksContentHeadlineTagContent
  ...helpersCheckIsAmpEnabledArticle
  entityId
  headline
  socialHeadline
  types {
    value {
      entityId
      id
    }
  }
  authors {
    entityId
    id
  }
  images {
    generic_og: style(filter: {style: "og_image_scmp_generic"}) {
      url
    }
    styles(filter: {styles: ["og_image_posties_article", "og_postmag", "og_image_style", "og_image_scmp_analysis", "og_image_scmp_explainer", "og_image_scmp_editorial", "og_image_scmp_fact_check", "og_image_scmp_debate", "og_image_scmp_live", "og_image_scmp_obituary", "og_image_scmp_opinion", "og_image_scmp_review", "og_image_scmp_series", "og_image_scmp_generic"]}) {
      url
      style
    }
    type
  }
  urlAlias
}

fragment hooksContentHeadlineTagContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  __typename
  ... on Article {
    types {
      value {
        name
        entityId
        description {
          text
        }
        id
      }
    }
    ...helpersCheckIsStyleArticle
  }
  flag
  sections {
    value {
      name
      id
    }
  }
  ...hooksContentHelperContent
}

fragment hooksContentHelperContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  ...helpersSanitizeArticleTypeEntityIdsArticle
  ...helpersSanitizeAuthorTypesArticle
  ...helpersSanitizedAuthorEntityIdsArticle
  flag
}

fragment hooksPaywallPromiseContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  entityId
  ...helpersCheckIsPostiesArticle
}

fragment hooksTrackPageViewArticle on Article {
  entityId
  publishedDate
  headline
  sections {
    value {
      name
      id
    }
  }
  urlAlias
  authors {
    name
    id
  }
  entityUuid
}

fragment imageContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  headline
  ...checkersCheckContentContainsStarlingImageContent
}

fragment inlineWidgetContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  ...contentNewsletterWidgetContent
}

fragment mainImagePrintArticleArticle on Article {
  images {
    title
    url
    isSlideshow
    size_652x446: style(filter: {style: "652x446"}) {
      url
    }
  }
}

fragment photoGalleryDialogContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  __typename
  ...contentShareWidgetContent
}

fragment photoGalleryWidgetContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  ...photoGalleryDialogContent
}

fragment scmpYoutubeContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  entityId
  urlAlias
  publishedDate
}

fragment sponsorTagSponsor on Sponsor {
  name
  type
  images {
    url
  }
}


sections

types

disableOffPlatformContent

sponsorType

published

headline

socialHeadline

authors

images

publishedDate

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

keywords

topics

readingTime

authorLocations

entityUuid

Letters

In every country that Omicron has touched, the wave of infection shoots up and then shoots down, much like the Greek letter Λ for Lambda. It is the same, whether in countries with high vaccination rates, such as Britain, Israel and Denmark, or low vaccination rates, such as Uganda and South Africa, with or without mask mandates, vaccine passports or lockdowns. And this wave lasts largely between six and eight weeks.
So it was strange to see Secretary for Food and Health Sophia Chan Siu-chee warning us that “we must use the coming two to three months to curb the pandemic with several measures” (“HK to discharge patients faster as caseload soars”, February 27).
Because it’s going to happen anyway, regardless of all the panic and the “several measures” that include extensive lockdowns, mass testing and vaccine passports.


These measures will only delay the inevitable, which is for Omicron to pass through the population in Hong Kong. It has done so pretty much everywhere else; why should it be any different in Hong Kong? In the meantime, life is returning very much to normal in those countries.
Did Chan make her strange comment so that she can say, when we see the inevitable downward spike in infections, that we have controlled Omicron? Could she be that cynical? One hopes not.
Territory-wide infections may not be the worst outcome. A preprint study from researchers in Israel has concluded that, “natural immunity confers longer lasting and stronger protection against infection, symptomatic disease and hospitalisation” caused by the Delta variant than vaccines alone. For those with hybrid immunity – having been both infected and vaccinated – the protection is even greater. This new analysis should factor into our government’s Covid-19 strategies.
Peter Forsythe, Discovery Bay
Why is Hong Kong-developed test cheaper in Singapore?
As Hong Kong battles its toughest Covid-19 wave, I would like to draw attention to the difference in pricing of the Indicaid rapid test kit in Hong Kong and Singapore.
The rapid antigen test kit, developed by Hong Kong start-up Phase Scientific International, has been endorsed by the Hong Kong government, which is probably its biggest customer to date. It retails for around HK$100-125 (US$12.80-16) per kit in Hong Kong (it is HK$120 per kit on Indicaid’s online site).
In Singapore, however, it has been announced that the Indicaid test kit, recently authorised for use by the Health Sciences Authority, will be priced below S$5 (US$3.70). That is less than HK$30 per test kit; three to four times less than what we have to pay here.
Although the Hong Kong government has plans to distribute rapid antigen test kits to all residents, the available kits are going first to those most in need. The rest of us are forced to scramble and pay out of our pockets for test kits to safeguard ourselves and our loved ones.
Meanwhile, businesses are procuring test kits for their employees just so they can continue to operate. During such times of extreme hardship, with jobs and livelihoods on the line, companies should really consider setting the profit motive aside.
Paweenee Wuttiattapong, Mid-Levels
MTR could make space for students
It is mind-boggling that our schoolchildren’s lives will yet again be disrupted, this time by newly brought forward “summer holidays”. Hong Kong has a disproportionate number of people living in cramped public housing and subdivided flats. This latest disruption will have a long-term impact on our children’s mental and academic development.
Forcing an early summer school break on the kids is reckless
Given that it is uncertain when face-to-face classes at school and public library study rooms will open, perhaps the MTR could lend a helping hand. Some stations have ample underused or dead spaces, such as retail units that have not yet been leased and interchange floor concourses away from high-traffic escalator zones.
Could these spaces be converted into quiet study areas for students living in cramped accommodation? They would provide a safe, ventilated and focused environment for youngsters away from home distractions.
The logistical, monitoring and cost issues should not be insurmountable for a well-run profitable organisation, and would cement its pivotal role in the hearts and minds of all Hongkongers.
Graham Cheung, Tai Wai
Forget testing, focus on vaccination
Does the government not see the incongruity in mandating testing (three times, no less), but resolutely holding back on mandating vaccination?
If our laboratories cannot handle the current volumes of samples submitted, what hope do they have of competently processing 7.4 million samples multiplied by three, in a timely fashion? And if results won’t be available for several days, of what use are they in this highly fluid fifth wave environment?


Why not spend this fast-closing window of opportunity and limited resources on ensuring that the remaining population is fully vaccinated? Vaccination, after all, is universally accepted as the most effective shield against Covid-19. It’s almost certain that other variants will follow Omicron. All efforts really ought to be a bit more farsighted, and not just a Band-Aid approach.
Further, I question the prudence of forcing large crowds into long queues when Omicron is known to be highly transmissible – is this not creating unnecessarily fertile ground for further spreading the virus?
I suggested these last year, but let me suggest them again:
Link the consumption voucher handout to vaccinations. No jab, no voucher; one jab, one voucher; two jabs, two vouchers; three jabs, three vouchers.
And make renewal of all work visas conditional upon full vaccination.
L. Chang, Causeway Bay


Hong Kong must accept its Omicron wave will be Lambda-shaped

A man rests while queuing for a Covid-19 test in Victoria Park in Causeway Bay on February 28. Photo: K.Y. Cheng

Opinion


Readers discuss the Omicron wave pattern, complain about differences in pricing of a rapid antigen test kit, suggest how the MTR can help alleviate the burden of the pandemic on children, and question the mandate for testing instead of vaccinations



Readers discuss the Omicron wave pattern, complain about differences in pricing of a rapid antigen test kit, suggest how the MTR can help alleviate the burden of the pandemic on children, and question the mandate for testing instead of vaccinations.


Letters | Hong Kong must accept its Omicron wave will be Lambda-shaped

Readers discuss the Omicron wave pattern, complain about differences in pricing of a rapid antigen test kit, suggest how the MTR can help alleviate the burden of the pandemic on children, and question the mandate for testing instead of vaccinations