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2020 May
Never Let Guard Down Despite Anti-pandemic Efforts Yielding Results

Seared by its SARS experience, Hong Kong has been highly vigilant since the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic. As a result, it has not yet experienced major outbreaks of community-based infections even though it was one of the earliest places in the world to have COVID-19 cases. Nevertheless, the public should never let their guard down since there is still the danger of a resurgence of the disease as the pandemic is still out of control in other places.
 

 

The pandemic has swept across the globe in just a few months. Edward Yau, Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development, said that although Hong Kong was one of the first places where COVID-19 broke out, it is also one of the best performers around the world in the fight against the pandemic due to the public’s spontaneous wearing of masks and the Government’s timely response measures.

 

Fighting on two fronts amid need for global anti-pandemic efforts

Yau said that people in Hong Kong are confronted with two tough battles simultaneously. The first battle is against COVID-19; the second battle is against the economic fallout caused by the pandemic. “The second battle has a more far-reaching impact and is arguably the worst global economic crisis since the Great Depression early last century. However, the priority now is to win the first battle.”

 

Yau stressed that countries can no longer rely solely on closed doors to defend themselves. Instead, they must think from a global macro perspective in order to achieve victory. For example, the Mainland proactively supplied anti-epidemic materials to various countries after the stabilisation of the pandemic. It also promptly published the sequenced genome of the virus. “Nothing is more important than working together amid the current crisis.”

 

Science-based pandemic containment

And Hong Kong plays a pioneering role. As early as last December, the HKSAR Government had appointed four international health experts to provide professional advice on its anti-epidemic strategy and established that containment should be at the core of the strategy. Yau explained that containment refers to a series of measures to stop the spread of the virus, including isolating all confirmed cases and conducting detailed contact tracing.

 

Social distancing is essential to the success of virus containment. Yau acknowledged that some industries are inevitably affected by this, but medically, this is the only way to deal with the pandemic. “Fortunately, we managed to contain the pandemic by effectively responding to it early.”

 

Adjust mindset for a long-lasting battle

As vaccines take time to develop, Yau said that it is still uncertain how much impact the pandemic will have on the economy, people’s livelihood and life. Moreover, pandemics often have their ups and downs, so people in Hong Kong must remain vigilant.

 

A characteristic of COVID-19 is that it has a bigger impact on places that are more densely populated, more prosperous and busier in terms of traffic. In Yau’s view, this is not a challenge that can be overcome with resources and money alone. Determination and hard work are more important. “The virus will not disappear in a moment or two. The public must be prepared for a long-lasting battle and make adjustments to their mindset and life accordingly. We will see the light at the end of the tunnel as long as we stick together.”

 

P.S. This is an abstract of the Chamber’s webinar about business sector overcoming the outbreak of COVID-19.