If you’ve ever watched any of the Rocky Balboa films, you’d know that its protagonist is a resilient boxer who always gets up after getting knocked down.
Here he is punching some beef.
Unfortunately for the citizens of Earth, Covid-19 is the Rocky Balboa of the virus world; just when you think you’ve defeated the disease, it comes back to bite you in the ass.
Hong Kong Leader Says COVID-19 Transmissions Are ‘Critical in the City
The resurgence of Covid-19 cases in Hong Kong is worrying its leader Carrie Lam, who said the disease was spreading out of control in the city.
Hong Kong was one of the first countries to be hit by the virus, but managed to contain the spread of the disease and even had three weeks of zero local infections.
This was quite extraordinary, given the fact that Hong Kong is an international transport hub and is as close to China as your dog is to you during a thunderstorm.
Moreover, the area is densely populated and has very few open spaces, according to Vox.
What helped Hong Kong was that millions of residents started wearing masks in public as soon as the virus emerged.
According to Vox, 99% of people in Hong Kong were wearing masks before the government even advised them to.
Just a month ago, the finance hub only had 1,129 coronavirus cases, a relatively low number considering it has a population of 7.5 million.
However, the country has seen a resurgence of Covid-19 cases in the last two weeks, with more than 500 infections in the last two weeks.
Singapore:
This is a number that Singaporeans would love to have right now, but considering how well-contained the virus was before, Lam is understandably worried about infections spiking.
“I think the situation is really critical and there is no sign the situation is being brought under control,” Lam told reporters.
The country now has 1,886 cases and 12 deaths.
Further Social Distancing Measures
Last week, Hong Kong’s chief executive shuttered businesses including bars, gyms, and nightclubs; basically any place where people are packed tightly like sardines.
She also ordered residents to wear masks on public transport.
Now, Lam has made it mandatory for Hong Kongers to wear masks inside any public indoor venue and for non-essential civil servants to work from home.
While she said further social distancing measures would be implemented if things do not improve, Lam was reluctant to order people to stay at home.
“We can’t just make a simple and extreme move to cut everything at once,” Lam said.
This is understandable, considering the battering that Hong Kong’s economy has taken.
Economy’s Deepest Contraction Since 1974
According to Hindustan Times, Hong Kong’s economy recorded its deepest annual contraction – 8.9% -since at least 1974 in the first quarter, largely due to the coronavirus.
Hong Kong was already in a recession before the virus emerged, due to months of political unrest last year.
In fact, the country banned international flights before it was trendy.
In August last year, the finance hub suspended international flights at its airport due to massive protests across the country.
The protests were initially against a proposed legislation of the 2019 Hong Kong extradition bill but soon turned into demands for democratic reform and a higher degree of autonomy.
This is why Lam is reluctant to order a full lockdown, because of the effect it would have on the economy.
“It’s hard to tell what kind of measures we will need to roll out… many places have ordered people to stay home,” she said.
“We haven’t adopted that in the last six months because we wanted to maintain a normal life for everyone.”
Eased Restrictions Too Fast
In a previous article, Hong Kong was criticised by experts for easing restrictions too fast.
Health experts said that not enough tests are being carried out.
They also added that those who are exempted from mandatory quarantine, like aircrew members or ship crews, are not being monitored tight enough.
Before the resurgence, they were basically given free rein and do not even have to be tested for Covid-19 when they arrive in Hong Kong.
Meanwhile, the authorities allowed public gatherings again, and the max cap keeps increasing: at first from four to eight, then 50 last month.
Restaurants and bars were also allowed to resume operations at “closer to full capacity”.
There are also silent carriers in the city (read: asymptomatic cases) and with international travel resuming, people who were stranded overseas are allowed to come home again.
All of this, experts deduced, helped in bringing up the “third wave” of infections.
Other Measures That Were Implemented in Hong Kong Recently
Foreign domestic workers will be required to undergo a swab test and give a negative result before being allowed entry into the city.
Employers must also make arrangements for their FDWs to be quarantined for 14 days in hotels, paid for by employers.
Members of sea crew are now required to take a virus test before making their way to the city. If not, they won’t be allowed to enter.
Aircrew members, similarly, are required to submit deep-throat saliva samples upon arrival at the Hong Kong International Airport.
Many Places Fighting With Second Wave Of Covid-19 Infections
If you’ve downloaded the Goody Feed app, you’ll know that Hong Kong isn’t the only one suffering from another wave of Covid-19 infections.
We’ve gone out and compiled a list of countries which are battling their second wave of Covid-19 infections right now and you’ll come to realise that all of them have one thing in common:
There are six on the list so far and based on what we’ve observed, there’s a common theme: they had all eased up on Covid-19 measures too fast.
Meanwhile, Singapore’s health minister, Gan Kim Yong, has also warned Singaporeans about the possibility of a second wave of Covid-19 infections here.
His warning is based on what the task force has observed overseas, and it was revealed that if it really happens, Singapore might just go back into Circuit Breaker mode.
Lawrence Wong aka the face of Singapore’s battle against Covid-19, says that if we need to enter CB again, they’ll try to make it a targetted one instead of a broad-based restriction.
In other words, if people are infected more while peeing at public toilets, and lesser while buying caipng, we might still be able to buy caipng during the second CB (if it happens) but will not be able to pee outside anymore.
You can find out more here.
Now that you know more about the situation in Hong Kong, you might as well just watch our video on how WiFi routers work and how you can make them fast even at home:
Would you be jailed for being half-naked in public? Well, the answer will shock you. Seriously. Watch this to the end and you'll understand:
