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City Beat | Hong Kong must walk the talk to achieve ‘dynamic zero-infection’ if ‘zero infection’ is mission impossible
- Government had been busy rolling out new measures but its efforts did not appear to be enough until Beijing stepped in over weekend by forming several cross-border task forces
- At this critical juncture of Hong Kong’s war against Covid-19, there is no room for any more misconception about the dynamic zero-infection concept
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As Hong Kong’s daily coronavirus infections keep surging to record highs, many cannot help wondering how the situation has spiralled so much out of control.
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To be fair, the government has been following a “dynamic zero-infection” strategy, with Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor and her top officials involved in pandemic containment all busy rolling out new measures such as limiting cross-household gatherings, shutting down some businesses, and pushing for an expanded vaccine pass system.
Yet it did not appear to be enough until Beijing stepped in over the weekend by forming several cross-border task forces, with Chief Secretary John Lee Ka-chiu supervising operations overall.
Until then, unfortunately, inconsistencies in the government’s policies and confusing interpretations of two terms used in mainland China’s Covid-19 containment strategy – first “zero infection”, then “dynamic zero-infection”– puzzled and troubled Hong Kong’s public and businesses.
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