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Shades Off | When Hong Kong’s pointless Covid-19 rules mean it’s just too much hassle to go out
- While restrictions have been eased on most places, people are choosing to stay at home to avoid having to comply with all the entry rules
- Shops, restaurants, bars entertainment venues and the like may have reopened, but this isn’t the vibrant environment it once was
Reading Time:3 minutes
Why you can trust SCMP
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Until Beijing gives the order, Hong Kong’s connections with the rest of China and the world aren’t going to loosen up significantly. The travel, transport, tourism, exhibition, convention, and retail and catering sectors will continue to suffer as a result of the mandatory week-long hotel quarantine for arrivals.
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But I’m convinced that the more than two years of enforced rules to keep out and prevent the spread of Covid-19 in the community are having a more lasting and harmful impact on the economy. Penalising people for leaving the city for so long has also sent a message at a more fundamental level: that it is unwise to leave your home.
Advising people to restrict movement to avoid catching and spreading disease makes sense in the midst of a pandemic. It was a necessity during the Omicron-driven wave in the first four months of the year, the horrific death toll justifying lockdowns, home quarantining and the banning of flights from the worst-hit countries.
Those dark days are behind us and, with daily coronavirus cases having fallen and stabilised at a few hundred, the authorities have eased restrictions on most places, allowing people to enjoy their lives much as before, although still limiting capacity.
But while going to restaurants, pubs, cinemas, parks, beaches and theme parks is no longer subject to shutdowns, the rules for entry such as use of the “Leave Home Safe” app, showing proof of vaccination and, when required, a negative rapid test result, make it clear the authorities still perceive that a threat exists.
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So many requirements for entry, the latest this week being proof of three vaccine jabs, is time-consuming and, to my mind, in the absence of a genuine risk, pointless. The uncertainties of what happens should I get caught up in a Covid-19 outbreak also make me wary of venturing to places I once frequented.
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The Hong Kong preppers surviving in the wild and training for disaster
The Hong Kong preppers surviving in the wild and training for disaster
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