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Opinion | How Hong Kong’s ‘zero-Covid’ failures are a chance to rethink and win the war

  • ‘Zero-Covid’ has always been more of a short-term objective than a long-term plan. As Omicron pokes holes in Hong Kong’s defences, the government must adapt to the reality of a Covid-19 world

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People queue at a mobile specimen collection station for Covid-19 testing in Hong Kong’s Central district on February 7. Photo: AFP
For well over a year, we existed in an almost Covid-19-free bubble while the pandemic ravaged the world beyond our borders. With Omicron, that has all changed.
Now we wait each afternoon for the government to update us on the latest in Hong Kong’s battle with Covid-19. And we listen anxiously for hints as to how our lives might be further affected by lockdowns, closures and social distancing restrictions.
Our parents and grandparents would probably recognise this daily routine from having gathered around the radio for news of victories and defeats during the second world war. Their attention would have been particularly rapt in the days following the allied invasion of Normandy. It’s my sincere hope that, with the events of the past few weeks, our own version of the D-Day invasion is now under way in Hong Kong.

D-Day was the beginning of the end of the war in Europe. Our fifth wave has the potential to be a similar watershed for Hong Kong. But our leadership must understand that with Covid-19, we face more than a battle for the beaches directly in front of us. We are in a war.

Winning a protracted war, as opposed to a single battle, takes strategy and planning. Winning requires a plan to achieve one or more long-term goals under uncertain conditions. And a good strategy requires logic, imagination and flexibility to achieve defined long-term goals in a dynamic world.

Our government has yet to articulate any such strategy to succeed against Covid-19. And Covid has shown it cannot be defeated by short-term tactics designed to quell the latest wave of infection.

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