City Beat

Hong Kong must walk the talk to achieve ‘dynamic zero-infection’ if ‘zero infection’ is mission impossible

Government had been busy rolling out new measures but its efforts did not appear to be enough until Beijing stepped in over weekend by forming several cross-border task forces

At this critical juncture of Hong Kong’s war against Covid-19, there is no room for any more misconception about the dynamic zero-infection concept

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Local residents and workers queue up for mandatory Covid-19 testing in Tin Shui Wai. Photo: May Tse

Tammy Tam is the Publisher of the South China Morning Post, overseeing both editorial and business strategy and operations to drive the publication’s development and commercial growth.

Published: 5:28pm, 13 Feb 2022Updated: 6:44pm, 13 Feb 2022

As Hong Kong’s daily coronavirus infections keep surging to record highs, many cannot help wondering how the situation has spiralled so much out of control.

To be fair, the government has been following a “dynamic zero-infection” strategy, with Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor and her top officials involved in pandemic containment all busy rolling out new measures such as limiting cross-household gatherings, shutting down some businesses, and pushing for an expanded vaccine pass system.

Yet it did not appear to be enough until Beijing stepped in over the weekend by forming several cross-border task forces, with Chief Secretary John Lee Ka-chiu supervising operations overall.

Until then, unfortunately, inconsistencies in the government’s policies and confusing interpretations of two terms used in mainland China’s Covid-19 containment strategy – first “zero infection”, then “dynamic zero-infection”– puzzled and troubled Hong Kong’s public and businesses.

The city has adopted the mainland’s anti-pandemic approach, but the local government has kept emphasising “Hong Kong characteristics”. The key argument here is that the city is not ready to undertake compulsory universal testing – the open secret to the mainland’s success in quickly curbing outbreaks under the dynamic zero-infection strategy.