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Opinion | Hong Kong third wave: Public needs to step up and keep coronavirus at bay
- One major reason the Hong Kong approach to managing Covid-19 has succeeded so far is the public’s responsible behaviour during the pandemic
- Hongkongers must do their part in handling this third wave by returning to social distancing, staying home and maintaining good hygiene
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Secretary for Food and Health Sophia Chan Siu-chee said this in the wake of the third wave of Covid-19 cases in Hong Kong: “I would appeal to the public to try to stay at home and not to go to gatherings as far as possible, at least at this initial period.”
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With almost one month of days without new Covid-19 cases, Hong Kong had begun to enjoy a new normal, a luxury in this time of pandemic. Donning masks and following the relaxed social distancing measures, Hongkongers were socialising again, studying at schools, shopping at malls and eating at restaurants.
Like Singapore, Hong Kong did not impose a complete lockdown as many other countries did. Instead, it adopted a “suppress and lift” strategy, where the aim is to aggressively drive down new infections to low levels and then loosen restrictions while still remaining vigilant for new infections. We have been enjoying the “lift” phase where a gradual loosening of restrictions gave society a chance to function normally, thereby allowing for economic restoration.
The latest spike in infections – the “third wave” – brought with it multiple clusters of local cases. This includes cases with untraceable sources, which is worrisome.
The government is slowly enforcing its suppression policies – closing schools, reducing restaurants’ operating capacity, limiting restaurant seating per table and so on. While the government takes the necessary steps to keep cases down and tries to balance the economic impact, it is time for the people of Hong Kong to step up.
A big question people might have is how we ended up with a third wave despite all the precautions taken. One has to understand this is a global pandemic, and Hong Kong will be at risk as long as there are active infections in other parts of the world.
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