Lam's Concessions Too Little, Too Late

Lam said today that people's tolerance is fading 

Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor continues to be behind the ball -- waaaaayyy behind.

Today in her daily press conference she conceded that Hong Kong residents have had enough with the government's social-distancing measures -- some of the most toughest in the world -- and perhaps it was time to review the and relax some of them.

Business leaders like Zeman pleaded with Lam

"I'm working [on] it day and night to find the optimal solution for Hong Kong," Lam said, referring to a plan for the city to reopen to the outside world. 

"The time has come, not because the number of cases has come down significantly -- they are actually now at a high-level plateau -- but I have a very strong feeling that people's tolerance is fading. I have a very good [feeling] that some of our financial institutions are losing patience about the isolated status of Hong Kong."

Really? After numerous heads of chambers of commerce, diplomats, and business leaders of multinational companies have pleaded for over two years with Lam to be more realistic about keeping borders open to keep the flow of business coming into Hong Kong, she finally realises they are leaving or have already left.

Many of them have had enough of the restrictions, that make it impossible to travel in and out of Hong Kong to do business without having to do quarantine weeks on end, flights being cancelled and social-distancing measures. And as a result a number of companies have moved or are moving to Singapore, soon to replace Hong Kong as Asia's hub.

Over 50,000 people left from March 1-15

In February 71,354 people left, a record since the start of the fifth wave in late December, while in the first half of March 50,505 people left, many of them trying to avoid the mass testing lockdown, or leaving permanently.

On top of that are local residents departing their hometowns for good, terrified of the national security law and national education, and looking to raise their families elsewhere.

So what is Lam doing to stem the flow?

As early as Sunday she will announce if the mass testing will still go ahead or not, along with the possible relaxation of quarantine requirements from 14 days to seven.

Why this sudden turn around when all along Lam has been pushing for zero-Covid?

Has Beijing finally realised that it is impossible to stamp out the virus completely and is using Hong Kong as a test case to live with the virus -- with Chinese characteristics?

Landmark shopping mall at noon yesterday

We are waiting with baited breath -- everyone from restaurant and bar owners, operators of gyms, sports coaches, beauty salons, mahjong parlours, to art and museum institutions, movie theatres, performing arts groups, and the tens of thousands of workers who have lost their jobs during this pandemic.

Hong Kong is dying and it's time for common sense and science to prevail.

Here We Go Again

Today Lam announced tough measures to contain Omicron

Hong Kong is on the cusp of the fifth wave with several local cases of Omicron in the community, and the government has clamped down hard with some severe measures. Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor held the 3.30pm press conference that the entire city tuned in to hear and it was bad news.

From midnight January 7-20, all restaurants must close by 6pm until 5am, and depending on if it is a B, C, or D restaurant, there will be two, four and six people per table respectively. Large gatherings of any kind are banned, bars, venues with live music, karaoke, dancing, gyms, swimming pools, gaming arcades, government-run leisure buildings are all shut for two weeks.

In addition all "cruises to no where", local tours are banned, as well as visits to elderly homes and hospitals, mahjong parlours and cinemas.

Nine on this cruise ship are a possible cluster

Hardly anyone will be able to enter Hong Kong, as eight countries have been banned from returning to the city from January 8 for two weeks: Australia, Canada, France, India, Pakistan, the Philippines, the US and UK, including via transit. 

My colleagues were in a bitter mood when they heard the news. One joked he was doing "Dry January" anyway -- where he had stopped drinking for a month to give his liver a break. Another was more sanguine, saying Hong Kong International Airport's third runway could be used to build a quarantine camp since there were no more flights coming and going. Golf carts would be needed to get around...

While Lam hoped these strict measures will help contain the virus in time for Chinese New Year, after having been through this so many times, Hongkongers are not holding their breath. It could be months before Omicron is contained.

It also demonstrates the Zero-Covid strategy is practically impossible to achieve -- there needs to be an increase in the number of vaccinations and an acceptance of the reality that the virus will continue to be in the community one way or another.

Events like the Cyclothon is cancelled 

One piece of good news was that just over 50 percent of all seniors in Hong Kong have had at least one jab, though that means some 593,000 over 70 years of age have yet to be vaccinated.

That compares to 38,000 seniors in Singapore yet to be inoculated, which has a population of 5.6 million.

The other bit of relief for parents was that schooling has not been affected -- yet -- as Lam hoped to avoid as little disruption to classes as much as possible. 

She said the tough measures would be reviewed again on January 14 to see how well they were working or if even harsher measures needed to be adopted.

Health experts believe there could be up to 10 transmission chains already in the community. The cluster at Moon Palace restaurant has grown to six, and another cluster of nine people on board a cruise ship with 2,500 people; the ship had to turn around and come back a day earlier. There is also a possible dancing cluster -- again...

Restaurants must close by 6pm again

Meanwhile there are very long lines at vaccination centres to get either the first, second or third jab.

The government was caught flat-footed in anticipating demand for vaccines. Secretary for Civil Service Patrick Nip Tak-kuen will be questioned for sure on why the government has not prepared for the onslaught of people wanting to get jabbed. 

In the meantime people are disappointed 2022 has already started badly and wonder will happen in the next 360 days...

Green Light for Reopening Some Venues

This afternoon Dr Chan announced loosening of restrictions

 

So it's happening.

The Hong Kong government announced the relaxation of measures starting on Thursday, the seventh day of the Lunar New Year.

However there are some odd choices of why certain venues will reopen and others will not.

What will open? 

Theme parks like Ocean Park can reopen

Restaurants can operate until 10pm and have four to a table -- even though in terms of public gatherings are still a maximum of two people. Secretary for Health Sophia Chan Siu-chee said this regulation will be amended to four people soon.

Other places can open, like cinemas, gyms, massage and beauty parlours, concert halls, theme parks, exhibition centres, bowling alleys, skating rinks, and game centres.

But venues that will remain closed are bars, party rooms, bathhouses, karaoke lounges, mahjong parlours, beaches, children's play facilities, barbecue sites and swimming pools.

It boggles the mind how this government decides that for example game centres can open but not swimming pools or beaches. Children can't even play on playgrounds.

When asked about this, Chan didn't have an answer, only to say the government was proceeding with caution, and is being vigilant for any rebound in cases after the Lunar New Year.

"I don't think the next phase of relaxation will be very soon," she replied to a question asking when the other venues may reopen.

Mahjong parlours remain closed

Meanwhile people are rushing to buy an extra phone and sim card to use the LeaveHomeSafe app starting on Thursday when entering premises like restaurants, cinemas, wet markets and gyms.

The salesperson who sold me the sim card said he had already helped several customers with the same request.

I remarked that his company was lucky to get this extra business considering others are still hurting because of the coronavirus pandemic.

"Actually we don't really want to do this kind of business -- pandemic business. This app is making people spend more money when they shouldn't have to," he said, adding it was just like the mask-buying situation where the scarcity led to high prices. 

Afterwards I set up the app and tried it out this evening. It's easy to use, scanning a QR code when you enter, then press "leave" when you are leaving, though it prompts two options of "leaving now" or "already left".

Swimming pools must also stay shut

It is hoped the app can help people record their movements in case they themselves are infected, or can alert others if they were in the same place at the same time. In theory it will help speed up contact tracing and it will be interesting to see how quickly people will comply to using it from Thursday.

In the meantime I will continue to walk instead of swim for exercise, though I have die-hard swimming friends who have resorted to open-water swimming these last several months! 

 

Here We Go Again

Lam says tightening measures are in effect for two weeks

 

Today Hong Kong recorded 76 new coronavirus cases, less than yesterday's whopping 115, but in case you thought that meant the fourth wave has peaked, you are sorely mistaken.

Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor came out this afternoon flanked by four senior government officials to announce further tightening measures to prevent higher case numbers in the future.

Why do pools close but gyms stay open?

These include from Wednesday, restaurants only having two people per table, down from four, and open until 10pm instead of midnight; most of the 177,700 civil servants will be working from home; entertainment venues such as karaoke lounges, mahjong parlours, theme parks and gaming centres will be closed as well as swimming pools.

The last one is hard to understand when gyms remain open because Lam says people still need to exercise. Why is the government prejudiced against swimmers when no cases have been linked to them?

Meanwhile, government performance venues will remain open only for rehearsals and online streaming performances, while beauty parlours can stay open taking extra precautions, and gyms too, though they can only have a maximum of two people in a class so it seems there is no point in holding group classes.

Mahjong parlours will shut for a fortnight

This will be the new normal for two weeks, which will take us to a week before Christmas. The hospitality industry will be hoping the number of cases calms down significantly by then otherwise we'll all be moping during the Christmas holidays in our tiny flats with no where to go.

On the education front, parents have to shoulder teaching their children with school suspended for two weeks, basically until Christmas break. Kids can't even get extra help from tutorial schools -- they have to be shut for a fortnight as well.

Simon Wong, president of the Federation of Restaurants says these latest tightening measures are going to be the nail in the coffin for many eateries, and that the government should give financial support to the industry.

He said with tables limited to two people and restaurants having to close at 10pm meant a 60 percent drop in business. If the measures continue beyond two weeks, then Wong believes more restaurants will close; last month alone 2,300 shuttered.

Restaurants can only have two to a table

"The government has the responsibility to help us in this case," he said on RTHK today, adding business will drop from HK$11 billion to only HK$5 billion due to the latest measures.

However, at the press conference this afternoon, Lam said there would be no lifeline extended to the catering industry, that it had doled out enough subsidies. 

Maybe Lam is tired of dealing with beggars, or she's trying to save as much money as possible for her war chest-draining Lantau Tomorrow Vision project?

Either way the government doesn't seem to care at this point who stays alive and who doesn't. 

The days of doling out cash are gone...

More Social-Distancing Restrictions Lifted

You can exercise in the gym from Friday but you must wear a mask

Gym rats, rejoice! You can finally go crazy on your workouts grunting loudly or sweating profusely from Friday now that the government has allowed them to reopen.

However -- you will need to wear a mask while you're exercising.

Ha!

Chan also announced dining can be extended until 10pm

Also group classes are limited to four, including the instructor.

Secretary for Food and Health Sophia Chan Siu-chee made the announcement early this afternoon. Other sports like badminton, table tennis, tennis, and outdoor bowling can be played again, but not squash or swimming. Snooker can now resume, if you consider it a sport.

It looks like the restaurant industry's hard lobbying efforts have worked and now dining establishments can stay open until 10pm. Apparently there were complaints some people finish work late and can't finish eating by 9pm. Perhaps these are people who can't cook and don't want to wash dishes either.

Not all restaurants are happy with the latest announcement because each table is still limited to two people. The other day I saw a family, two parents with a baby and toddler, eat at two separate tables. Very awkward, but they seemed used to this arrangement.

The wife ordered dishes and gave some food to her husband, who was carrying the sleeping baby in a pouch.

Tennis courts can reopen, but not swimming pools

Clubhouses and massage parlours can reopen as well, but basketball courts, football pitches, karaoke bars and mahjong parlours must stay closed.

Hong Kong had eight new coronavirus cases today, the lowest number since July 3 when five cases were recorded.

While relaxing more measures is great news for people who are experiencing serious pandemic fatigue after eight months, one has to wonder again why this is happening when universal testing is happening now?

One would think that it would be best to partially lift measures after the mass testing was completed, but this is happening in tandem, which, from a scientific point of view defeats its purpose.

"If we have to be scientific or to be accurate, you might have to do the test twice in a short period of time with a stay-at-home order, and that is more scientific if you want to go get the data that you use for reference," said Ivan Law, vice chairman of the Hospital Authority Employees' Alliance.

He cited the example of Taiwan that managed to keep the number of coronavirus cases low and economic activities have largely resumed.

Law says the mass testing scheme is not scientific

"I think it's not necessary to do a universal screening program for you to [ease] those restrictions," he said.

The alliance and other medical experts have questioned the need for universal testing, and Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor criticized them for having politically-motivated views aimed at discrediting Beijing.

Law hit back, saying the government should focus on reviewing and improving the scheme instead of hitting back at critics.

It's just more apparent the exercise is not meant to be scientific...  

In the past two days, 278,000 people have been tested, and those tested on the first day have results coming back negative. A total of 798,000 have registered to take part.

Two Extreme Reactions to Coronavirus

While there were fewer cases today, the trend is still worrying

Hong Kong recorded 73 new cases today which is a drop from yesterday's staggering 108 cases, but the city is far from being able to curb the virus that seems more virulent than back in March.

This morning top microbiologist Professor Yuen Kwok-yung warned Hong Kong may have to go into a virtual lockdown if the number of cases continue to increase in the next seven to 14 days.

Dr Yuen warned of a possible lockdown in HK

"We might possibly need to lock down, not a lockdown of the whole city, but... close to a lockdown," he told a radio program.

The reaction to the surge in cases has seen polar opposites. There are those who are terrified, and some 4,000 of them rushed to hospitals to get tested even though they had no connection with any of the recently reported cases, or they socialize like they did before the pandemic, and not as stringent about wearing a mask.

Perhaps that's why some of the cases are connected to a giant party on July 9 where some 100 people celebrated the 23rd anniversary of the handover (wrong date, but it was also on a weekday) with dancing and singing (mask-less), a birthday party, and a mahjong parlour.

A mahjong parlour had a cluster of infections

Professor Yuen said the outbreak could be attributed to a failure to control who goes through the border including quarantine exemptions, and that the outbreak happened after Father's Day, when restaurants were back to full capacity.

Meanwhile Dr David Hui Shu-cheong said taking the test without overt symptoms did not give people "any sense of security", and could stretch healthcare services.

"The text will only prove that you are negative at this moment, but it does not mean you will not get the virus the next day, if you have not passed the incubation period," said Hui, a respiratory medicine expert, who is also consulting the government on the coronavirus.

"People should not rush to the hospitals for testing unless you have symptoms or you were close contacts [with an infected person]. It will increase the burden on our health care system," he said.

Hui asks public not to overwhelm health system

"We encourage people with symptoms like respiratory disease and epidemiological linkages with earlier confirmed cases to do a test, but not the general public."

In the meantime, the rest of us should stay at home as much as possible, and as soon as you step outside your flat, wear a mask! We understand it's hot and stuff wearing one, but we all need to protect ourselves and each other together.

Community, not Government, Fights the Virus

The stress of the pandemic is having a toll on Hongkongers, two months on

Imagine in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, you are born to the world and six weeks later you contract the contagious virus.

That's what happened to a baby boy at a celebration for him on March 30. He is the youngest known infected patient in Hong Kong and health officials are trying to track down who came into contact with the baby.

On this day 17 years ago we lost Leslie Cheung Kwok-wing

"The person might have held him, thereby infecting him," said Dr Chuang Shuk-kwan, head of the communicable disease branch of the Centre for Health Protection at a press conference today.

Dr Lau Ka-hin, chief manager of quality and standards at the Hospital Authority, said the baby had a fever of up to 38 degrees Celsius, but was in stable condition. He was tested for other illnesses like meningitis, and the tests were normal.

His parents tested negative for the cornavirus.

The child is being given a cocktail of anti-viral medication on the advice of experts.

We hope the baby will pull through and get better soon, and we can only imagine his parents in shock and fear at the situation they have put their child in. Major guilt complex for sure.

What would goh goh think about our world today?

This being April 1 is also a sad anniversary -- the death of Cantopop king Leslie Cheung Kwok-wing who committed suicide on this day in 2003 in the midst of the SARS epidemic. He was 46 years old.

Seventeen years later and we are experiencing something worse than SARS that is affecting the entire world.

On social media, many people posted pictures of him to remember "goh goh". My friend YTSL told me there would be no gathering at the Mandarin Oriental Hong Kong where he died, due to the coronavirus. Every year lots of bouquets of flowers are placed by the hotel by fans who still miss their idol deeply.

What would goh goh think about where Hong Kong is now? We have all been through so much in the intervening years, and yet this pandemic as well as the anti-government protests are far from over.

Long lines for masks in the early stages of the epidemic

Luckily the number of cases in the city is relatively low compared to others, as the community has been quicker to respond than the authorities by wearing masks and social distancing at an early stage; meanwhile the media continue to press the government on why it is not enacting tougher measures faster to prevent people from gathering.

Finally today karaoke lounges and mahjong parlours must shut for 14 days after a lot of questions from reporters yesterday. Beauty and massage parlours may be next. But the government should really be implementing tougher measures right from the beginning; why is it waiting for an uproar from the public and the media before finally shutting establishments down temporarily?

No wonder some 70 percent of people believe Hong Kong has managed to avoid a large-scale epidemic due to the efforts of the community, in a recent survey conducted by Chinese University of Hong Kong.

Karaoke lounges and mahjong parlours are finally shut down

Over 60 percent of respondents are dissatisfied with the government's immigration measures since the outbreak, as there were many calls to completely shut off the border with the mainland, but the authorities refused.

When it comes to the government procuring protective equipment, some 67 percent of people are dissatisfied, as evidenced by the massive lines for masks and the exorbitant prices for them. The government promised more masks for the community, particularly the elderly and those in seniors' homes, but that promise doesn't see to have been kept. Healthcare workers have also protested about not having enough protective gear.

One would think that showing leadership during this pandemic would be a good opportunity for Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor to redeem herself after her pathetic performance during the eight-months of protests (which are still on-going by the way). But she squandered that chance and seems to be constantly playing catch-up and reacting to issues than being pro-active about them.

Perhaps she doesn't care much about the upcoming Legislative Council elections in November?

Hong Kong Forces More Social Distancing

Carrie Lam's slogan today behind her says: "Stay Home, Keep Safe"

Today there was a shocking record of 65 new cases for Hong Kong, most of them again are residents who have come back from overseas, and still more from Lan Kwai Fong.

So Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor has to come up with tougher measures to ensure more social distancing, but they are still kind of murky.

At around 5.30pm there was a collective groan in media circles when there was an announcement she would be holding a press conference in an hour... on a Friday...

She and her cabinet introduced new measures to start Saturday

All week there had been an outcry from the bar and restaurant community about her proposal on Monday to ban the sale of alcohol in establishments that have a liquor license. There was even an online petition going around with almost 5,000 signatures from the food and beverage industry against this idea.

It also turns out Lam didn't even seek the advice members from the executive council or her team of infectious disease experts, as they all preferred to use other ways of limiting social gatherings.

So she followed their advice. Describing now as a "public emergency situation", Lam announced that restaurants and bars can only have a maximum of four people per table, and each table should be 1.5 metres apart, and that these places should only hold half their capacity starting from tomorrow for the next two weeks.

In addition all staff need to wear masks, guests' temperatures need to be taken and hand sanitizer should be available.

Insomnia was one of the bars with many infections

The 50 percent capacity will put some restaurants in a bind -- can they make enough money to pay rent, staff, food and utilities? Is it worth even opening?

Many will probably continue to focus on takeaway to reduce their losses somewhat. It's a tough call.

Lam also announced the following establishments will be closed for two weeks starting from 6pm tomorrow: cinemas, fitness centres, saunas, party rooms, gaming centres and places of amusement, such as pool halls. Does that extend to mahjong parlours? Those tables are less than one-metre long and people are sitting there playing for hours...

In any event, spot checks will be carried out by the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department, and violators in the catering industry will be subject to a maximum fine of HK$50,000 (US$6,450) and six months' in jail. People who flout the public gathering law will be fined HK$25,000 and six months in jail.

Restaurants will have to halve their capacity tomorrow

Hope that's enough of a deterrent to get people to do some serious social distancing.

Meanwhile Lam downplayed the U-turn on her idea of banning alcohol in bars and restaurants.

"The community so far agreed that a ban on liquor is not the right antidote in minimizing social interactions under a public emergency situation," she said. "We will instead enforce two laws to enhance social distancing."

Gatherings that do not fall under the four-person rule are: weddings, funerals, government functions, and workplace meetings. Banquet restrictions will be decided later, Lam said.

While she added the government would provide financial assistance to the catering industry, she was vague on specifics, and appealed to employers not to lay off staff in the near future.

Gatherings at weddings and funerals will be allowed

Does she even know the financial pressure in running a restaurant? Many cannot afford to keep staff when there's no business...

What's interesting to observe is that Lam will float an idea, or announce a measure, and when her panel of infectious disease experts don't think it's stringent enough, they will go to the media to express their opinions.

Then a day or two later Lam follows their advice.

Why doesn't she just listen to them in the first place? Why have an expert panel and not follow their advice? She is wasting precious time in containing the virus in Hong Kong...