More Covid-19 Cases than SARS

Social distancing was practiced at Repulse Bay beach today

Hong Kong has just surpassed a grim milestone -- more coronavirus cases than SARS 17 years ago. The city reported 64 new cases today, 60 of which are local, for a total of 1,777 cases. That is two more than the number of SARS cases in 2003.

The high number of cases of Hong Kong is highly concerning, with people still continuing to socialize in large groups. I walked with a friend from Ocean Park to Repulse Bay to have lunch and while the beach wasn't packed, there were many people congregated around The Pulse, a mini mall that has restaurants, cafes and shops.

People having too much fun on July 9

There are also reports of a "handover celebration dinner" held on July 9 where over 100 people without masks were singing and dancing together in a hall. Four people from that party tested positive for the coronavirus.

Up until a few weeks ago, Hong Kong was the envy of the world with its single digit cases (on some days there were none). That's because of the pretty strict protocol it established when people flew into the city, and disseminated lots of tips to the public on how to keep safe.

But then what happened? Complacency settled in and people got tired of social distancing.

The Hong Kong government needs to move faster to clamp down on the number of cases as soon as possible. This cannot wait another day. The vast majority of the cases are not traceable, making it harder to find the sources of the virus.

More testing needs to be done too. For example, while test kits are made available free of charge to taxi drivers, doing the test is not mandatory. How could that be? It seems like a half-hearted measure. While it is understandable people are anxious about finding out if they are positive or not, it would be better to know earlier than later in terms of treatment?

Why not make testing mandatory for taxi drivers?

Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor must allow a good portion of the civil servants to work from home (the ones that can). There is no need for everyone to be in the office now. That would also allow private companies to follow suit. The less interaction with others at this time would be better.

Mixed messages makes it harder for the public to understand and respect the government's thinking. A muddled response only reveals its indecisiveness and gives the impression fighting the virus is not a high priority.