Letters | How did Omicron bring Hong Kong to its knees? Blame vaccination failures and crowded housing

Readers discuss the reasons Hong Kong is struggling amid the Covid-19 fifth wave, and officials’ confidence that they could keep Omicron at bay

Reading Time:2 minutes

A woman wearing personal protective equipment waits outside a makeshift testing centre at a residential area under temporary lockdown on March 1. Photo: Tyrone Siu

Published: 11:30am, 7 Mar 2022

The question posed in “Omicron brings Hong Kong to its knees, but how did we get here?” (February 17) was not clearly answered in the report.

We got here because people in Hong Kong were reluctant to take up the generous offer of free vaccines early during the pandemic. We got here because of the lack of clarity on the benefits of the vaccine and how it works, and because the government did not require frontline carers or people in health care and education to be vaccinated.

We got here because the media highlighted deaths without explaining whether those were related to the virus or to underlying issues and old age. This created fear and confusion.

In addition, the crowded conditions in which most Hongkongers live make it easy to transmit any infection. We are now caught in a situation which is escalating beyond the government’s control.

What is the logic of testing 7.4 million people and isolating positive cases for what could be weeks? What is the ultimate long-term plan for Hong Kong beyond testing and isolation?

04:15

Hong Kong announces universal Covid-19 testing, school holidays moved up, tightened restrictions

The only really hopeful and sensible policy is to require everyone to be vaccinated and to continue practising social distancing and good hygiene. In the long term, the government must also address the housing problem and the needs of the health care and education sectors.