Neil Newman

Abacus | In post-Covid Japan and Britain, life is a celebration again. Why not Hong Kong, too?

After months of cowering from Covid-19, populations that were once near the end of their tether have embraced living once again and their bottom lines are better for it

Hong Kong may be doing what it thinks mainland China wants, but it still has something to learn from Japan and the UK: that people have their limits

Reading Time:5 minutes

Why you can trust SCMP

Neil Newman

Published: 9:30am, 21 Mar 2022

I am in a holding pattern for a return to Hong Kong, spending time on an aeroplane but without an opportunity to land, so to speak. Even though friends are leaving South Lantau for Europe and Britain, albeit temporarily and telling me to stay away, the weather is changing, I need lighter clothes and I miss my mattress – so I wouldn’t mind getting back home.

However, I cannot deal with being locked up for 14 days mentally or financially right now.

I have witnessed two communities recovering from Covid-19 restrictions, the first in the UK where the test-obsessed Brits were on the verge of losing their cool with all the swabbing up the nose and down the throat, and secondly in Japan, where I am waiting out Hong Kong’s Omicron wave. Patience even here has been getting strained, though recently the pressure in both places has been relieved.

Being called out over the illegal lock-down parties at the prime minister’s residence, the British government accelerated the removal of restrictions early this year to save its bacon, and were conveniently able to lean on statistics to support its case.

Official stats determined that the death rate for Omicron – if you are tucked up at home in the warm with a pack of paracetamol – was below that of the annual flu and therefore the health ministry decided there no point continuing with social distancing, or masks – at least until something more lethal comes along. The reaction was swift, with pubs and restaurants getting busy very quickly. I witnessed this first hand, staying on the south coast in Bournemouth where few masks were being worn although encouraged in supermarkets and on public transport.

The final measures to discourage movement and track visitors to the UK will be abandoned before Easter. At that point you won’t even need to be vaccinated to land at Heathrow – you’ll be able to go straight to the pub. Tourists are on the move again as travel around Europe opens up without serious restrictions and the package holiday companies and airlines are going to see a very strong start to the year. Family and friends have already clocked up multiple ski trips this year to France and Italy and are planning early warm weather getaways to the Canaries, Madeira and Cape Verde – and it’s not even April. Many are ready to pack their bags to travel further to Asia as Thailand beckons, and possibly Vietnam soon.