Hong Kong trail runners accuse government of dodging questions on Covid-19 restrictions in ‘extremely disappointing’ response
- Trail Runners Association of Hong Kong sends follow-up letter to Health Secretary after response that ‘does not acknowledge any of the issues’
- Association blasts ‘inconsistent, illogical and disproportionate’ restrictions while ‘8,000 people can attend a snooker match indoors’
The Trail Runners Association of Hong Kong (TRAHK) has criticised the government for replying to its open letter to the Health Secretary with a statement that “does not address any of the questions raised”.
The letter, co-signed by 24 organisations, on Thursday received a response on behalf of Lo titled “Abolition of Restrictions on Trail Races”.
“Despite the unstable epidemic situation, the Government has always been in communication with stakeholders to consider how sports activities could be held in light of the need of anti-epidemic measures, and to fine-tune relevant requirements to cater for different sports activities,” the letter read.
“The Government will continue its close liaison with all sports associations for their proposed events. Sports associations may also contact the Culture, Sports and Tourism Bureau for assistance in such applications.”
The Culture, Sports and Tourism Bureau (CSTB) was CC’d on the letter. TRAHK has contacted the CSTB previously, and been told to contact the Health Department instead.
Trail racing continues to face strict restrictions in Hong Kong, such as races being limited to 50 kilometres, food being banned at checkpoints, PCR tests being required to race, and limitations placed on entry numbers.
The original letter asked the Health Secretary to address all of these points, particularly given that trail racing is inherently social distanced and takes place outdoors.
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TRAHK wrote again to the Health Secretary that “your reply does not address or acknowledge any of the issues we raised in our letter”, adding that the response “is extremely disappointing” and reiterating the need to remove restrictions.
“If 8,000 people can safely attend a snooker match indoors, surely a quarter of that number can safely run/hike a long distance outdoors,” TRAHK wrote.
TRAHK called the restrictions “inconsistent, illogical and disproportionate”.
“We would hope and expect that the Department of Health would be accountable for its actions and decisions,” TRAHK said, claiming the government body instead showed “no understanding of the very low risk of transmission of Covid-19 t Trail Races”.
