The government will announce on Tuesday a new round of pandemic measures. Its hand has been forced by mounting evidence of feared exponential increases in Omicron case numbers.
The sheer number of cases could overwhelm hospital and quarantine capacity, therefore the talk of less serious cases and contacts isolating at home. That puts more onus on individuals to act responsibly, aside from complying with the face-mask rule.
It is time for such a change in approach. It is no longer a choice of living with the virus – we are already living with it.
Many people have had enough of official intrusions into normal life, including social distancing, sudden lockdowns and compulsory testing. They made that clear during the Lunar New Year holiday by crowding venues and public transport, prompting warnings of an explosion of infections.
Experts say it is false comfort to attribute ambient sounds of coughing and sneezing to the flu, when there is no seasonal epidemic. They are just as likely to be linked to Omicron and the threat of infection.
The government needs a convincing plan B to buy more time while it struggles to lift a vaccination rate, the best hope of a long-term solution. Hopefully it will reveal one on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, if a weary public is to break free of official restrictions or be granted more latitude without aggravating the risk of contagion, there is room for more self-regulation. The government cannot escape responsibility for dealing with the latest turn of events.
But the public cannot reasonably question the need for proven effective measures such as full vaccination and social distancing, not to mention showing distaste for any suggestion of a tracing app, and then demand to know why the government has not brought Covid under control. It is time ordinary people took more responsibility.
If the government does switch to more emphasis on voluntary isolation at home, hopefully that will encourage more people to come forward to be tested. With the community tiring of official regulation of normal life, it is time for civic spirit, shaped by reflection on duty and responsibility, to play a bigger part.
Rolling up the sleeves for more jabs and avoiding large or crowded gatherings are small prices to pay for seeing more light at the end of the tunnel.