‘Waste of resources’: self-isolating Hongkongers slam handout of Covid-19 supplies as slow and disorganised
- Pro-Beijing newspaper says disorganised distribution of supplies leaves patients like soldiers ‘going to the battlefield without bullets’
- Beijing showing signs it is ‘not pleased’ with performance of Hong Kong government, according to think tank vice-president
Jacky Chan was surprised to see an anti-epidemic kit packed with six rapid antigen test kits, a thermometer, masks and an outdated guideline for Covid-19 patients hanging on his door last week, 10 days after he first reported his infection to health authorities in Hong Kong.
The kit would have been somewhat welcomed if the 32-year-old had not already recovered from his illness and gone back to living his normal life.
“It was a complete waste of resources,” Chan said. “The package never comes when you need it the most, not to mention that there was no patent medicine or food included.”
While Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor on Sunday acknowledged delays in delivering resources to an estimated 300,000 people undergoing isolation at home, her admission provides little relief to homebound infected residents struggling with the lack of necessities.
Both a pro-Beijing newspaper and politician have joined residents in accusing the government of being too slow and disorganised in distributing the anti-epidemic supplies.
Many supplies had been stockpiled for the now-postponed mass testing exercise, said lawmaker Vincent Cheng Wing-shun, a member of the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong.
