Venting away on the eve of the lunar new year of the cow (or ox)!

 

May yellow turn to gold in the year of the cow (or ox)! :b

 

Not too long from now, it'll be a new lunar year; with that of the cow (or ox) replacing that of the rat (or mouse).  It would be great if the new lunar year brings better tidings for Hong Kong and the world at large.  I don't think it's an exaggeration to say that this past year has been pretty awful -- with billions of people having to deal not only with a previously unknown coronavirus but also major political problems.

 

Since one isn't supposed to start of a new year with gripes and pessimism, let me go ahead and vent in the short time that's left before the lunar new year (celebrated by ethnic Chinese, Vietnamese, Thai, Koreans, etc.) comes along.  (Of course, I should be further cleaning up my apartment but, truly, I've spent quite a bit of time doing that already today!)  So, without further ado:-  

 

Hong Kong reported 21 new cases of the Wuhan coronavirus today.   It's four more than the 17 new cases reported yesterday but Carrie Lam promised two days ago that there won't be any ambush lockdowns, or "restriction-testing declarations" on the eve of the Lunar New Year and  the ensuing holiday period.  (Apparently, the coronavirus goes on vacation during this time the way that Chinese people do.  Either that or they really aren't a much needed public health measure after all.)

 

As it so happened, last night also didn't see any enforced lockdowns, "ambush-style" or otherwise: the first since January 23rd that this was the case.   Also yesterday, Secretary for Food and Health Sophia Chan announced that "social-distancing rules will be eased after the Lunar New Year break, with the extension of dine-in services at restaurants till 10pm and reopening of venues such as gyms and beauty parlours". And museums and cinemas (woo hoo!).

 

Good news?  Except that there are certain catches that come with those rules easing. Among them: "All [restaurant] staff will have to be tested for Covid every 14 days, and patrons will have to use the LeaveHomeSafe tracing app or have their personal information recorded." (The last bit in recognition of the fact that not everyone in Hong Kong has a smartphone still!)

 

In short: a bit of freedom will return, albeit accompanied by extra surveillance. And I hate to be a Cassandra but announcing the easing of social distancing restrictions ahead of the Lunar New Year period is only going to get certain people feeling that they can gather more, and in larger groups, in homes and other locales (e.g., private clubs, including those dance clubs linked to the start of the current, fourth wave) which thus far have not been subjected to gathering restrictions. 

 

Of course I hope I'm wrong about this and that people will behave responsibly and considerately.  But I already saw quite a bit of over-crowding today, notably at wet markets (something to be expected since people have to get groceries for tonight -- since restaurants aren't allowed to be open, and many customarily close anyway so that the staff can have reunion dinners with their families -- and the next few days)! 

 

So... happy days over the festive period and then we all pay for it with further restrictions and surveillance in the days, weeks and months after?  And, actually, the griping about these new regulations have already begun.  (Surprise, surprise -- not!)   A restaurant chain owner has questioned whether Hong Kong's coronviarus testing capacity can handle the regular checks of some 300,000 catering sector workers.  Meanwhile, the president of the Federation of Restaurants worries that the requirement that customers use the government's LeaveHomeSafe app could lead to conflict between customers and restaurant staff.     

 

The reluctance of people to use that app can be seen by there having been just about 500,000 downloads of that government tracing app (accounting for around only six percent of the local population) to date.  And honestly, can you blame those who don't trust the Hong Kong government?  

In an ideal world, we would trust the government and the police, and they would trust the people.  But while there may indeed have been such a time in Hong Kong, that, alas, is no longer the case -- and as much as I wish this would change in the coming year of the ox/cow, I don't see that happening as surely as a deer is not a horse.