Businesses in Hong Kong have been in dire straits since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the previously strict anti-pandemic quarantine requirements for overseas arrivals did not help. Tourism and passenger air traffic have literally been eradicated, and most food-and-beverage companies are running at a volume just a fraction of that of the pre-pandemic times. Against such a background, the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government has finally announced the relaxation of the quarantine measures, with the mandatory quarantine period in hotels for overseas arrivals coming through the airport shortened from seven days to three, followed by four days of medical surveillance at home.
Under the relaxed arrangement, those arriving in Hong Kong can take public transportation and enter supermarkets and markets while they are subject to amber-code restrictions under the Vaccine Pass, but they are not allowed to enter high-risk premises involving mask-off or group activities, as well as other premises requiring key protection.
The relaxation to the “3+4” quarantine formula has been applauded. To some people, it even came as a pleasant surprise, as they had previously expected that the seven-day quarantine requirement would be eased only to a “4+3” or “5+2” formula. So, the present “3+4” one is more relaxed than they expected. It is widely anticipated that the relaxation will bring in more arrivals to Hong Kong. To business owners, however, the “3+4” formula is still not relaxed enough. They argue that almost all quarantine requirements have more or less been scrapped around the world. If Hong Kong is to restore its competitiveness on the international stage, something similar must be done here as soon as possible. They have their point, understandably, as quarantine requirements hurt an export-oriented economy like Hong Kong more than larger economies with a big domestic market.
But there are still many people who stand firm on maintaining quarantine requirements. To some extent, their view is based on the belief that easing quarantine requirements and putting the pandemic under control can be mutually exclusive. But that does not have to be the case. Under certain circumstances, the two can be compatible and even complementary. An effective control of the pandemic, for instance, can serve as a prerequisite for having quarantine requirements further relaxed.
That is the theoretical foundation for the HKSAR government to continue with some of its pandemic-fighting measures. According to government data, 80 percent of the new infection cases have been spotted through nucleic acid tests in the first three days of the mandatory quarantine period. The chance of detecting a positive test result in the following days of the mandatory quarantine period is less than 1 percent. Therefore, replacing the previous seven-day mandatory quarantine with the “3+4” formula is not going to bring extra risks to the community.
For those who champion a total abolition of quarantine requirements, they should come to see the fact that the omicron variant is highly infectious. While getting vaccinated does help avoid severe symptoms and death, it cannot do much in preventing people from getting infected. Also, the omicron variant is notorious for being a highly concealed type with an incubation period after infection. That is why when new cases are spotted, the transmission has already been rather widespread. While the symptoms are relatively lighter for adults, deaths among the elderly and the young are still common. All these point to the need for the city to continue with the pandemic-fighting measures.
As the number of overseas arrivals goes up with the implementation of the “3+4” formula, the tally of new confirmed COVID-19 cases may go up as well. While the government has received positive comments from businesses and residents alike on the relaxation of quarantine requirements, the government has to get itself prepared in advance to avoid the recurrence of a collapse of the hospital systems as happened during the peak of the fifth wave when new cases surged.
The COVID-19 pandemic has turned out to be a learning curve for everybody. After more than two and a half years, we have come to realize that the most critical factor in curbing the number of deaths is to identify people of different levels of risk and to manage them in such a way under which cross-infection becomes impossible. The current code restrictions system under the Vaccine Pass is exactly doing that job.
The government’s intention of adding the red and amber codes into the Vaccine Pass is to differentiate people with higher risk of infection. With the red code assigned for confirmed cases and the amber one for inbound people from overseas places or Taiwan, the absolute majority of residents will not be bothered by the new practice as the people in charge of premises will deny entry to the premises only to restricted people in accordance with Vaccine Pass regulations. Other people’s movements will not be restricted.
To get Hong Kong out of the woods is the common goal of society; I am certain enough to say that. The only differences lie in the approach to be taken. A total abolishment of the quarantine requirements is favored by many, especially the businesses. In between the two extremes, a middle path should be adopted, as it would serve Hong Kong’s interests the best at this particular juncture.
The author, a radiologist, is a co-founder of the Hong Kong Coalition and a council member of the Chinese Young Entrepreneurs Association.
The views do not necessarily reflect those of China Daily.