No time for risks as city warily reopens in stages from virus
Asteady decline in Hong Kong’s number of daily Covid-19 infections has raised hopes that preventive measures can be eased sooner than promised. Social-distancing regulations were relaxed last Thursday for restaurants and fitness, cultural and entertainment activities, while rules on incoming flights with confirmed cases will be further loosened on Sunday. A feared coronavirus resurgence after the Easter holiday did not occur, boosting suggestions that the worst of the pandemic is over thanks to high levels of community immunity. These are positive signs, but as experience has shown, responses should not be rushed and have to be carefully balanced to weigh both risks and benefits.
Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor yesterday said a three-stage timetable for easing announced on March 21 would be adhered to. The next phase is likely to be around the middle of next month. It is expected to include the reopening of bars and pubs, swimming pools and beaches. A third and final relaxation is likely in June, although the specifics are not clear.
Daily infection numbers reported yesterday fell to 347 from 431, far removed from the peak of more than 72,000 in March. Hotter weather has prompted some to wonder why beaches and pools should stay closed. Operators of bars, pubs and mahjong parlours, among places still closed, question how their businesses pose greater infection risk than cinemas and fitness centres, allowed to reopen last week. Calls are also mounting for restriction-free travel to and from the mainland and overseas, and particularly the scrapping of the suspension mechanism for incoming flights. It is unclear how talks with the mainland and foreign governments are progressing; some stakeholders worry matters are being left for the next administration.
The dynamic-zero strategy adopted by the government has been defined as swiftly responding to outbreaks and being flexible to changing circumstances. There are understandable questions why the easing of rules should be set to a timetable. But it also has to be appreciated that Covid-19 is constantly evolving and the risk of a more deadly and transmissible variant than Omicron and Delta, behind two of the city’s five waves, is ever-present. It is the reason, as Lam explained, why border controls were still important to prevent and reduce the number of imported infections.
With Singapore and other overseas competitors having dropped all or most Covid restrictions, Hong Kong authorities are under pressure to follow suit. But being too hasty has risks, especially when the disease has such a deadly record. A staged reopening, with each being based on an assessment of the one before, allows for caution and striking the best balance.