Another Record Number of Cases

Large numbers of people being tested in Yuen Long today

Things are not looking good in Hong Kong at the moment with another record 342 infections reported today, yesterday having 351 cases.

Most concerning are 320 untraceable cases (so far), 80 percent of which involve the Omicron variant, said Director of Health Dr Ronald Lam Man-kin at today's press briefing, and warns of a potential super-spreader event.

"We could not track how many generations of transmission were spread," he said. "We could not make an accurate estimation on when the peak would arrive but we are certain that the number has not peaked yet."

Lam is concerned about 320 untraceable cases

Lam said because the Omicron variant is very contagious, 320 untraceable cases meant at least 320 other people had been infected as well...

Health authorities observed that "a lot" of the latest patients had been to Po Lin Monastery on Lantau Island and Che Kung Temple on Tuesday and Wednesday, the first two days of the Lunar New Year. Some infected people had also been to Yuen Long Plaza, where 13 employees were among the confirmed cases.

Sogo department store in Causeway Bay also shut on Saturday and Sunday after two employees there tested positive. 

Lam has advised people to avoid shopping malls and for organisers to hold off having events for the time being.

Some banks have temporarily closed some branches, and retailers Ikea and Citistore have shut some outlets for disinfection after preliminary positive cases were found there. 

Sogo in Causeway Bay closed over the weekend

Meanwhile patients who have recovered from Covid-19 in AsiaWorld-Expo near the airport have complained about not being allowed to leave despite being given their discharge notice and having to wait two or three days more.

There are also horror stories of the toilets not being clean with the rubbish bins overflowing with tissues. Also just as bad is no hand soap for three days for people to wash their hands after going to the washroom. 

The government is completely overwhelmed with the logistics of running a health treatment centre, barely keeping the place hygienic which is crucial when a virus can spread so easily.

Is the problem understaffing or underpaying? This is work that should not be undervalued. And we all know the government has money to pay...

Hong Kong to Continue the Same Path

Lau again picked a neutral fortune for Hong Kong today

On the second day of the Lunar New Year, the prophecy for Hong Kong is drawn through fortune sticks at Che Kung Temple in Sha Tin.

Early this morning, Heung Yee Kuk chairman Kenneth Lau Ip-keung got on his knees and shook a bamboo container filled with fortune sticks at an angle until one fell out.

It was number 38, considered a neutral fortune. By the way the two previous times he has picked neutral fortune sticks -- perhaps it's time to give the job to someone else? 

Lau got number 45 last year and number 92 in 2020.

Warning for Lam who may run for CE again

In any event the fortune read: "Men up above seek the fruit of truth. I head to the low ground to pick ginger and Chinese mustard.

"An altar may well be a kitchen. Act not as a hero to teach hunting," it added. The omen came with a brief explanation telling the city to "stick to the old ways on everything.

Everything?

If anything the city needs to innovate if it wants to survive...

Lau interpreted the fortune as continuing on the same path in battling the on-going Covid-19 pandemic.

More groans can be heard all over Hong Kong.

"My understanding is that as the pandemic rages on, everyone should keep up their work. One should not expect the city would be able to end it in one go. We step out of difficulties one step at a time."

Meanwhile fortune-teller Chan Tin-yan said the message was also directed at Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor, who has yet to disclose if she will run again for the top post or not.

Che Kung quashed uprisings and plagues

"It said one should not act like a hero. It was telling the chief executive not to act like a hero," Chan said, adding the prophecy also suggested that any other entrants into the March leadership race should be more experienced than Lam "so that the economic and pandemic situations in Hong Kong will stabilise."

Interesting to note that Che Kung Temple was built over 300 years ago and named after a Song dynasty commander who was known for quashing not only rebellions, but also plagues...

Warning for HK Govt in Year of the Ox

Lau shows the prophecy he picked out with the fortune stick

 

The Year of the Ox has a cautious warning for Hong Kong authorities.

On the second day of the Lunar New Year, the ritual fortune stick is chosen at Che Kung Temple in Sha Tin, and this year the interpretation is for the government to be more decisive.

Kenneth Lau Ip-keung, who chairs the powerful rural body, the Heung Yee Kuk, picked a "neutral" fortune stick, though he said it should serve as an alarm call for officials, referring to the year-long coronavirus pandemic.

Che Kung Temple is in Sha Tin

"Hong Kong is facing a big problem. The people suffer pain. It's hard to do business now and many people are left jobless. Every step of the government is important, particularly at this stage," said Lau, who is also a pro-Beijing lawmaker.

"If it is not decisive and moves a wrong step, then the problem will be big. The fire will grow bigger. So the prophecy asks the government to implement its policies in a decisive, precise and timely manner, otherwise the problem will be big."

The fortune stick is one of 96 in a bamboo cylinder, each stick is numbered and refers to an omen, with 35 good ones, 17 bad, and 44 neutral. To pick the fortune stick, you have to shake the bamboo cylinder at an angle until one stick falls out. If two or more fall out at the same time, then put the sticks back in and shake it again.

Each omen is written as a poem, and usually people ask a fortune teller to help them interpret what it means. Lau's stick was number 45. It roughly translates as:

"One must discuss with others before taking any action. Matters of the world are fraught and in vain.

Shake the bamboo container until a stick falls out

"The wood that piled up in one's storage is not burnt for nothing. The knowledge knows before a fire burns."

It goes on to say:

"Everything is not ideal, but the self should have peace and the family has some luck. Those who seek money cannot yield a great outcome."

If one looks at how the Hong Kong government has handled the pandemic, the omen seems to describe it well, as the authorities have done several U-turns on many policies in battling the virus, including the latest decision on allowing the Lunar New Year flower markets to open, when originally it said they would be cancelled.

Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor has also been criticized for relying on a small circle of advisors instead of consulting more broadly. Perhaps one remembers the time when the government stopped allowing all meals in restaurants and had to reverse the decision in 48 hours after seeing people eating takeaway lunches in the rain?

The government u-turned on the flower market

Lau said: "The pandemic is just the same as fire. If it is not put off in a timely manner, it will spread so fast."

As the number of new infections was 12 today, but no closer to Lam's goal of zero, Lau said the government needed to do a better job in tackling imported cases and improving contact tracing.

When asked by reporters whether the prophecy suggested the Beijing-imposed national security law could not address the city's problems, Lau said: "The administration could not walk its talk on many occasions. I believe when making policies, the government should make them go forward, aside from thinking about them carefully."

Sounds ominous.

He gave the example of Hong Kong's housing and land shortages, saying it took two decades to develop an area.

Lester Shum was one of 50 arrested last month

Reporters also asked Lau whether Hong Kong authorities should refrain from prosecuting opposition figures, give that one interpretation of the prophecy suggested the importance of harmony.

"Politically, striving for harmony is always the best. People's grievances should be addressed. It can't always use tough measures. That can't solve the matter. Every society needs harmony and unity to go forward," he said.

Wonder if he meant to send that message to Beijing as well, after how it dealt with the social unrest in 2019 followed by over 10,000 arrests of protesters, and last month's arrest of 50 former lawmakers and pro-democracy activists for subversion in an alleged plot to "overthrow" the government...

A Very Quiet Year of the Ox

Victoria Park used to be packed for Lunar New Year fairs

 The upcoming Year of the Ox is going to be duller and duller.

In a not-so-surprising announcement today, the government said the annual Lunar New Year fireworks would be cancelled, the second year in the row because of the coronavirus pandemic; last year it was because of the anti-government protests.

People can't make wishes this year in Tai Po

Not only will there be no fireworks to light up the sky and scare off the evil spirits, but also the traditional new year fairs held in places like Victoria Park will not be organized this year, as well as the night parade and the Well-Wishing Festival in Lam Tsuen, where people throw a wish tied to a mandarin orange and hope it hands on a branch of the wishing tree in Tai Po. 

However, there is still no clarification on whether events will go ahead at Wong Tai Sin Temple and Che Kung Temple in Sha Tin. Usually diehards will be in the front of the line to rush to the alter to make the first offerings of the new year at midnight (this year February 12) at Wong Tai Sin Temple, or the following day at Che Kung Temple. 

What is there left to do really except stay at home and eat radish cake and new year puddings? 

In more uplifting news, lawyer and district councillor Daniel Wong Kwok-tung was finally released on bail after 40 hours in police custody. The 72-year old spoke to reporters, saying: 

Lawyer Daniel Wong free after 40 hours detained

"I will continue to use my professional knowledge and work on what I profoundly believe should be done. A lawyer will never break the law so I don't know why they come after me," he said.

Wong said no evidence was taken, and will continue his work tomorrow morning of visiting those detained. 

A man on a mission.

MTR's Psuedo Curfew Hours

The violence has led the MTR to shorten its hours of service everyday

For the last few days, the MTR has closed its transport network at 8pm.

In text messages it says: "Due to vandalism, some damaged facilities are still under repair. Some stations will remain closed and service hours will end earlier tomorrow [insert date here]. Updated information will be provided tomorrow morning".

Kwun Tong station was badly hit by protesters on the weekend

So every morning we wake up to get a text message from the MTR saying: "The MTR train service is running normally today, however due to serious vandalism, some stations will not be opened for service, damaged facilities and station entrances/exits in other stations need time to repair." The seven stations that continue to be closed are: Mongkok, Kwun Tong, Tseung Kwan O, Hang Hau, Che Kung Temple, Sha Tin Wai, and Shek Mun.

Shutting down the MTR at 8pm is a strange one -- it's the end of the rush hour period, but for many people, they have just started eating dinner or are halfway through.

As a result many restaurants, particularly smaller ones have had to close early so that their staff can get home. Why not 9pm? Or did the restaurant sector not lobby the government hard enough to change the time to at least an hour later?

Closing a major public transport system at 8pm is basically a pseudo curfew. While it's true some stations are severely damaged, like the one in Kwun Tong where the customer service centre was completely burned down into a mass of charred metal, while an entrance to Mongkok station was totally burned down and the glass panels destroyed, the other 87 stations are functioning for the most part, no?

MTR turnstiles have been destroyed by protesters

And if the Hong Kong government wants the economy to recover as quickly as possible, why not let the MTR run just a tad longer?

When people can't go out, they aren't spending money and keeping the local economy going.

But no, this pseudo curfew is a way to prevent protesters from roaming around at night, making the rest of us err on the side of caution and stay home or close to home. It has created unnecessary stress and panic, with people lining up at ATMs and withdrawing loads of cash, as well as hitting supermarkets and stocking up on everything from rice to toilet paper.

Now there are reports that hundreds of restaurants have shuttered in Hong Kong amid the protests, laying off thousands of workers. Those dining establishments that are still open are not keeping freelance staff, while some full-time staff are forced to take unpaid leave.

Many of these restaurants are mom-and-pop shops, while others were on the edge of closing because of high rents and the impact of the protests hastened their demise.

A shop in Wan Chai shutters its doors due to the protests

It's really sad seeing everyone in retail and hospitality suffering so much and it's not their fault at all.

However when you do patronize stores and shops, many staff are friendly in the hopes that you will come back again. It's kind of like the reset button after SARS was declared over in 2003.

And everyone could be helped a bit more if the MTR stayed open just a bit longer.

Even more strange is that we don't know when the MTR will close each day until the next morning. We're kind of held hostage in that we must adjust our lives around this very early closing, day by day.

The one good thing is that buses, trams and taxis are seeing more business after 8pm, while glass manufacturers and contractors are making a killing with repairing windows or fixing up a shop that was previously hit by protesters.

Does this mean we're going to start seeing early bird specials at restaurants, even bars. Or are delivery services seeing an uptick in business?

Hongkongers can adapt quickly, but for how long will they stand the MTR's shorter service hours?