Opinion | With a long pandemic recovery ahead, Hong Kong’s ‘new normal’ still feels anything but

After two years of Covid-19, the return to ‘normal’ is underwhelming: new cases are still emerging, borders remain closed and businesses continue to struggle

While our next leader John Lee may be focused on uniting our city, there is much work to be done to reconnect – and catch up – with the rest of the world

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A woman self-tests for Covid-19 using a rapid antigen test, or RAT, on April 8. Photo: Felix Wong

Published: 6:45am, 16 May 2022

There was a time when the disruptions brought about by Covid-19 didn’t have a sense of permanence to them. The masks would soon come off. School closures weren’t a big deal – everyone would fall behind together. The “new normal” had an uplifting ring to it. At that time, we had faith in our health system, in the community and in ourselves.

Covid-19 was called the “novel coronavirus” then – and the chance to pause was a nice novelty. We realised we didn’t need a lot of stuff, except toilet paper. Workaholic urbanites took to the city’s hiking trails and reconnected with nature. More of us started reading. Albert Camus’ The Plague flew off the shelves.

It took a disruption of this magnitude for many of us to prioritise things that really matter and learn what not to take for granted. Covid-19, in the beginning, was a sobering moment. We held out for the day that “normal” would return.

Fast-forward to the present: we are on the cusp of the new normal. Coming out of the fifth and worst wave yet, we are opening up. Most, if not all, children are back in their classrooms. DSE exams are wrapping up today – that’s an achievement in itself.

Pools and beaches are open. We get to go mask-free while exercising outdoors. We get to dine out in the evenings, maybe see some live performances and have live interactions with other human beings. We are allowing travellers back into our city.

But the real advent of the “new normal” feels a little underwhelming, because life is harsh. Sticking foreign objects up our noses every day isn’t normal.