As one medical expert has put it, this is a case of one person failing to take a vaccination and the whole community forced to “foot a heavy bill”. This refers to the case of the 27-year-old man who worked as a ground staffer at the Hong Kong airport and tested positive on June 24 for the L452R Delta mutant strain. He also worked as a part-time customer service assistant at Uptown Plaza in Tai Po, where he soon transmitted the virus to his colleague, who also was unvaccinated.
The immediate effect is that he has caused at least 180 persons to be subject to quarantine of 21 days; his residential block was locked down and an overnight mandatory testing operation was conducted for the 2,100 residents; and at least 40 residential blocks, primary schools and a Buddhist temple in Tai Po were locked down, while all those working at the airport and Uptown Plaza, and tens of thousands of citizens were subject to compulsory testing. The long queues in heavy rain outside the mobile stations in Tai Po waiting for the test presented a most dispiriting scene. For the community, the 16-day record of “zero local infections” came to an abrupt end, and we need to recount before there is any chance of reopening the border, or relaxing the social-distancing restrictions. This case will reduce the effect of boosting the economy through the 36 billion-dollar program of expenditure vouchers due to start on Aug 1.
A question that is bound to be raised in many people’s minds is why this young man did not take the vaccination. He should know that he is at a vulnerable position in the airport with close contact with incoming passengers. Indeed, the experts strongly believe that this is the source of his infection. Unless he has a medical reason not to be vaccinated, his refusal to be vaccinated is inexcusable, especially when it was reported that he took off his mask in a social gathering of over 50 people in the airport for photo-taking.
If one looks at a similar case in early June when a family of three got infected with COVID-19, which broke a 42-day streak of zero local, untraceable infections, none of them had bothered to take the vaccination. Had all of them been inoculated and therefore most likely to be protected from infection, Hong Kong could have had a record of 58 days and, more than likely, all our borders would now be reopened with most COVID-19-related restrictions relaxed and our society back to normal. It is not unreasonable to blame these people for selfishly refusing to be vaccinated. It is time for the government and all employers to take a tougher stand to push for vaccination, which is probably the only way of returning our society to normalcy and resurrecting our economy.
The Equal Opportunity Commission has pointed out that under Section 61 of the Disability Discrimination Ordinance, it is lawful for employers to require employees to have the vaccination, even though it may appear to be discriminatory, so long as it can be proved that the requirement is both “reasonable and necessary” in protecting public health. Hence, it should be legal for the management of Cathay Pacific to require all their pilots and air crew to be vaccinated before the end of August. It is the same for the Hong Kong Peninsula Hotel, which insists that all its employees be vaccinated, or face losing their jobs. These two precedents should set the scene in requiring mandatory vaccination of all employees in vulnerable sectors of the economy.
Clearly, our main threat now comes from the imported cases of COVID-19 from countries with high infection rates. Tougher measures should be taken to guard against them as the first line of defense. It is not unreasonable to require all passengers coming from those countries to have proof of vaccination before being allowed to board planes to Hong Kong, unless they have a medical certificate to prove that they are not suitable for vaccination. Such a requirement should include all the domestic helpers from the Philippines and Indonesia, to ensure protection of the families they are going to serve.
Secondly, all employees at the airport and other border control points, including Customs and Immigration officers, must be fully vaccinated before being allowed to work there; again, exceptions should be made only for those who have a valid medical reason. The Airport Authority has just made such an announcement requiring anyone entering the restricted area to comply. This is not enough. It should be extended to all airport employees such as contract staff, including those working for airport buses transferring incoming passengers to hotels for quarantine.
Hong Kong can learn from the specific mandatory vaccination requirements introduced in certain Western countries. Many universities in the United States now require their students and staff to be fully vaccinated before the commencement of the autumn term in September. There is no reason why Hong Kong universities cannot do the same. But knowing the lack of moral courage of our university presidents, as shown during the violent social unrest, it is best for the government to initiate the vaccination requirement on public health grounds, and to include secondary schools as well, so that all our students can enjoy normal schooling by September.
An interesting test case in the US where employees at Houston Methodist Hospital in Texas lost their lawsuit against the hospital’s mandate for all employees to be vaccinated should serve as a good example for the Hong Kong Hospital Authority to follow. Clearly, the US federal judge is satisfied that the hospital mandate is both “reasonable and necessary” in the interest of public health safety. Several major hospital clusters in Washington, DC, and Maryland are enforcing this mandate as well. The vaccination rate at the HA is inexplicably low, less than one-third, reflecting a dismal lack of leadership and social responsibility from its staff. Since encouragements to take the vaccine fell on deaf ears, a direct order from the HA making it compulsory may be the only option.
The Australian government has just announced a mandatory vaccination order for all its health workers and other employees in elderly care homes. Such an order is clearly in the best health interest of all the residents who are most vulnerable to the deadly virus.
Morgan Stanley, one of the world’s top financial houses, has announced that all its staff must take the vaccination before July 13 or they will not be allowed to work in its New York office. Russia has ordered that all employees in the retail and catering business have to be vaccinated as a compulsory measure. With the recent spread of the highly infectious and deadly Delta COVID-19 cases, it is justifiable for the government to take tougher action against employees in these service industries to better protect the health of all citizens. All service sector employees with close contact with the public should get a compulsory vaccination unless medically certified unfit, in which case they would then be subject to weekly testing.
The government should set an example by requiring all civil servants to be vaccinated in view of their direct contact with the public. They must avoid being the source of an infection. But at present, it is estimated that only a quarter of the civil servants have been vaccinated. It is justifiable to issue a mandate requiring all civil servants to be vaccinated. I recently visited a government agency canteen and was told that only two of its canteen staff, the owner and the chef, have taken the vaccination. This is a potentially disastrous scenario, as an infected canteen staff member could easily spread the virus to many civil servants he/she serves, and this could bring the operation of the entire government agency to a halt.
In many Western countries, only people with vaccination certificates are allowed to attend public events such as concerts and football games. Hong Kong should introduce this sensible precautionary measure. The Hong Kong Book Fair, which has been postponed twice due to COVID-19, has been rescheduled to July 14-20. This event can attract tens of thousands of visitors and with the threat of the deadly Delta COVID-19 cases, it is not unreasonable to follow the Western practice of limiting access to those who have been vaccinated with at least one dose. This restriction should also apply to all other public events such as concerts and football games.
Scientists have warned of the dire consequences of the newly discovered COVID-19 Delta variant, which could trigger the fifth wave of the pandemic. Hence it is time for the government to take prompt action. The newly appointed chief secretary, with extensive experience in the disciplinary services and law enforcement, would be ideally suited to introduce tougher measures in our war against COVID-19.
The author is an adjunct professor of HKU Space and council member of the Chinese Association of Hong Kong and Macao Studies and former deputy commissioner of the ICAC.
The views do not necessarily reflect those of China Daily.