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A couple have dinner at a restaurant in Hong Kong on Wednesday, ahead of an evening dine-in ban at eateries beginning on Friday. Photo: AFP
Opinion
Editorial
by SCMP Editorial
Editorial
by SCMP Editorial

Hong Kong measures to combat Omicron threat are tough but necessary

  • Tightening of social-distancing restrictions, ban on eating in restaurants after 6pm and the closure of many public facilities take the city back to square one in the Covid-19 battle

The Covid-19 variant Omicron is such a serious threat to Hong Kong that the heavy-handed measures announced on Wednesday by Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor to stop its spread are necessary.

Among the tightened social-distancing rules taking effect for two weeks from Friday are a ban on eating in restaurants after 6pm, closure of theme parks, museums and venues including fitness centres and bars, and cancellation of big events like the Cyclothon.

Flights from eight countries, among them the United States, Britain, Canada, Australia and India, will be suspended from Saturday. The moves are tough, but essential if the Lunar New Year next month is to be a joyous occasion and travel to the rest of China is to resume soon.

This is obviously not what Hongkongers were expecting just a week or so ago, celebrations for Christmas and the beginning of 2022 bringing optimism and a marked upsurge in business for the catering and retail sectors. But lurking was the threat of Omicron, a strain of the coronavirus that is far more transmissible than earlier variants.

In keeping with Hong Kong’s zero-tolerance approach to Covid-19, rules on incoming flights and passengers from affected countries were tightened. The irresponsible behaviour of cabin crew from Cathay Pacific Airways who broke home quarantine changed all; the city is now threatened by a fifth wave of the disease.

The number of infections linked to a cluster at a restaurant in a Kowloon Tong shopping centre is ever-rising. Thousands of people have been affected, whether through mandatory testing or enforced quarantining.

The case of a surveyor from Tuen Mun has authorities especially worried; the source initially unknown, he is now believed to have contracted the virus either from an infected woman he walked past in Victoria Park or dining at a nearby restaurant. It is as if the clock has been turned back to the start of the pandemic almost two years ago despite observing rules and getting vaccinated.

Affected businesses are understandably perturbed; there is no certainty that the outbreak can be quickly brought under control. Omicron, although initially shown by studies to not be as serious to health as earlier variants, may infect people who have been fully vaccinated and appears to be able to spread over long distances and even penetrate face masks.

The strain is behind record coronavirus numbers in recent days in countries including the US and Britain.

Which vaccines stop Omicron? Search for data moves from labs to real world

Lam said schools would remain open and there would not be a resumption of work-from-home requirements. But the scale and scope of the tightened measures indicate the seriousness of the outbreak and the resolve of the government to bring it under control.

The arrangements will be challenging, but without them, there is little chance of a prosperous new year.

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