1,000 Could Die Due To Lax Covid Measures: Expert

Leading microbiologist Yuen Kwok-yung warned on Sunday that more than a thousand people could die from Covid-19 this winter unless social distancing measures at high-risk venues are properly implemented.

Professor Yung told a Commercial Radio programme that the government had the right idea in imposing social-distancing regulations targeting high-risk venues such as restaurants, bars, wet markets and care homes.

But he said none of this matters unless the regulations are implemented properly.

For example, he said bars in Lan Kwai Fong were previously spotted doing almost nothing to control the number of people seated at each table, and customers were free to walk around and speak to each other without their masks on.

Unless Hong Kong starts doing a better job, he warned, more than 10,000 people could get infected this winter, and over 1,000 patients could die from coronavirus infections.

The expert also said the government had got its focus wrong in terms of Covid testing, saying it should be putting its resources on more targeted testing of people who visit public clinics or private doctors.

He noted that the positivity rate from these sources is far higher than the city-wide testing programme conducted last month.

He said while universal tests aren't necessarily a bad idea, they must be done quickly, with students and workers all required to stay at home, for such a programme to be effective.

Professor Yung – who advises the government on its pandemic response measures – also said he believes people will have to live with the virus for another year as a vaccine isn't expected to become available until the middle of next year.

But the Financial Secretary, Paul Chan, said he believes large-scale testing can help Hong Kong contain the spread of the virus.

Writing in his blog, he said the mainland had an effective approach in its use of a 'health code' system that gives people confirmed to be virus-free access to 'safe zones.'

The FS did not give any specifics, but said Hong Kong could use the results from its universal testing programme last month to devise new strategies that can quickly contain acute infection spikes, while allowing most people to carry on with their lives and for business activities to continue.