HK Records over 1,100 Covid-19 Cases

Men desperate to get a last haircut in before barbers shut

This morning it was shocking to find out via Bloomberg that Hong Kong had more than 1,100 cases today.

It was almost double yesterday. As the infectious disease experts had predicted, the infection numbers have shot up in a short period of time.

The goal of reaching "zero Covid" seems like a mirage in the distance.

Vegetables have disappeared from shelves

Today men and women, but mostly men rushed to hair salons and barbers to get their last proper hair cut before they shut at midnight. Many do not think hair salons or religious venues will re-open on February 24.

Meanwhile some report zero access to fresh vegetables in their supermarkets with pictures of empty shelves. Some sarcastically noted only coriander was left behind, while another said it was turnips where they were. Frozen vegetables are also a hot commodity.

There was a picture of a woman stocking up on toilet paper again... are we seriously repeating 2020?

Then there are long, long lines of people waiting to get tested in various areas around town. Some 20,000 people need to get tested in Discovery Bay after sewage tests showed up positive for Covid-19. Anyone who spent two hours or more there between January 26 and February 8 must get tested. 

People worried being in line would result in them being infected and felt the sewage tests were not helpful.

Despite high case numbers, Lam is still maskless

Many residents are incensed that Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor continues to speak at press conferences without a mask when her own health experts have advised everyone to wear a mask except when eating and drinking.

Some are beginning to think Lam is exacting revenge on Hongkongers by flouting the rules because... she's the chief executive. 

If that is the case, is she really committed to getting the city back to "zero Covid"? Or is she happy to have Hong Kong in a mess, stressing people out about having to comply to the latest restrictions on top of avoiding getting infected? 

By the way don't even think about meeting more than one person on the street at the same time -- you could be fined HK$5,000 on the spot and the police are out in force and gleefully handing out tickets.

One person sarcastically suggested on social media this was perhaps the government's way of paying for the HK$26 billion for the anti-epidemic fund.

Then there appears to be some power plays by the Executive Council... Regina Ip Lau Suk-yee claims Exco announced the latest social-distancing measures yesterday before Lam could...  Maybe that explains why she deferred to the 4.30pm press conference for further details...

Two families being fined by police today

The one good thing that happened today was that more elderly people got their first jabs.

About 1.19 percent of seniors aged 70-79 got inoculated, the highest percentage for any age group in a single day since the start of the vaccination program.

Also just over 1 percent of people 80 years and over got jabbed too.

In the meantime it looks like Valentine's Day is cancelled for restaurants. With the number of cases doubling every two days or so, the chances of someone wanting to eat out are very slim now. No one wants to get infected or dragged into Penny's Bay for quarantine.

What has Hong Kong turned into? It's absolute madness and we're into the ninth day of the Lunar New Year. The Year of the Water Tiger is not doing well at all, let alone the start of 2022. 

Can we start over again?

 

Cathay's Knock-On Effect in Hong Kong

Many flats in Discovery Bay are vacated by Cathay staff

 

The termination of the Cathay Dragon airline last week has already had a knock-on effect in the property market.

Someone I know who lives in Discovery Bay told me today how many of the residents there work for Cathay and they have had their salaries cut by 20 to 40 percent for flight attendants, 40 to 60 percent for pilots, or either one or even both spouses have lost their jobs and they immediately have to find a cheaper flat to live in or leave Hong Kong.

A friend described "tsunami" of empty flats

The result is a lot of people moving out and flats left empty. He described it as a "tsunami". 

A property agent in Discovery Bay says there is an increase in flats renting at HK$65,000 per month available. 

The same thing is happening in Tung Chung too.

In the last three months over 60 renters have given up their flats according to Joe Lee of Midland Realty.

"I've never seen so many people giving up their rented apartments in my career," Lee said. "Local crew members who were let go or had their salaries cut are terminating their leases."

Of those who still have jobs at Cathay have opted to swallow the pay cuts, though the airline unions criticized management for not giving the flight crews and pilots more time to consider the new contract, let alone give them a chance to negotiate for a better deal.

However, at this point having a job is better than none at all, and Cathay has reported the majority of Cathay pilots and flight attendants have opted for permanent pay cuts. 

Chris Beebe warns of Cathay's "bullying"

Chris Beebe, general secretary of the Hong Kong Aircrew Officers Association, said if the airline's comments were accurate, it would serve "as proof that bullying and intimidation" worked.

"The real [payback] may come in the months and years ahead as pilots remember how they and their families were dealt with harshly and opportunistically when most vulnerable," he warned.

While the pay cuts are severe, the projections for air travel don't look good. The International Air Transport Association projects airline revenues for 2021 to be half that of 2019 due to the global pandemic.

The cuts at Cathay have contributed to Hong Kong's unemployment rate to rise to a nearly 16-year-high of 6.4 percent with tourism taking the biggest hit. 

Simon Lee Siu-po, co-director of the international business and Chinese enterprises program at Chinese University, warned the jobless rate could rise to 7 percent or more by year's end after the wage subsidy ended.

Tung Chung as seen from a plane

"Those who didn't joint the second stage of the [wage subsidy] scheme have already axed staff, such as Cathay Pacific," he said.

"After November when the wage subsidy scheme ends, companies may start to lay off staff. The situation will be more serious in early next year when companies are due to close their accounts for the year end."

Yep 2020 has been a complete wipe out in many ways.

Hearing and reading these sad stories make you appreciate whatever you have... left.

Earth Day? More Like Plastic Day

How does this mountain of garbage make Hong Kong look beautiful?

Today is Earth Day and some 1,500 people took part in beach clean-ups in Hong Kong and collected over 3,000kg of junk, most of it plastic. It included plastic bottles, plastic wrappers, plastic packaging, children's toys and cigarette lighters.

"I would say about 80 percent of what we picked up were plastic items that were only used once... and most of it was local," said Dr Robert Lockyer, director of operations at the AquaMeridian Conservation and Education Foundation, one of the groups organizing the major citywide beach clean-up.

The clean-ups were at Sai Kung, Lamma Island, Discovery Bay, Tai Po, Central and Sham Tseng.

Mainly one-use plastic items were collected on beaches

In recent months, some restaurants owned by expats have announced they are not using plastic straws anymore, and instead either using paper or metal straws, or none at all.

There is also a Facebook page that encourages people to write to restaurants, shops and grocery stores to complain about their excessive use of plastic packaging, and then post the letter on the social media site.

It's called A letter a day keeps the plastic away, and many people are posting their letters and responses from companies, but the replies are usually standard corporate ones that seem mildly concerned, but not much concrete action to rectify the situation.

Most expats and local Hong Kong Chinese who have lived abroad and are environmentally conscious, know too much plastic is bad for the environment. The focus should be on educating locals, Chinese restaurants and cha chaan tengs that they need to change their habits.

My friend YTSL regularly organises beach clean-ups and sometimes she can be demoralized when she cleans up a beach one week and then returns the following week only to see it covered in trash again.

Hong Kong's waste problem is growing every year

I try to be conscious about my grocery shopping -- using my own bag and when I'm out, carrying a thermos of water so that I don't need to buy a water bottle. But there are some people -- mostly men I have to say through observation -- who don't do either and don't think twice about paying HK50 cents for a plastic bag or buying a bottle of water.

The Hong Kong government really isn't doing enough to get people to use less plastic or legislate companies to use less packaging because the authorities aren't serious about protecting the environment.

In 2016, 10,345 tonnes of municipal waste was sent to landfills every day -- 1.8 percent more than the year before, though most of it was commercial rather than residential. Of this waste, 20 percent or 3,132 tonnes was plastic.

This has to stop soon because it is unsustainable. Is there no one else who understands this? Or is it because people are so reliant on domestic helpers to clean and cook that they are completely unaware of how much garbage they create?

Another day, another Earth Day. But environmental NGOs have more work to do to get the public and companies to understand waste is everyone's responsibility.