'Government Should Take Lead In Working From Home'

An infectious disease expert on Thursday said many private companies aren't allowing staff to work from home because the government hasn't taken the lead to do so.

David Hui from the Chinese University told RTHK that he understood the government wanted to maintain public services, and had implemented flexible working hours as a way to mitigate the infection risks from the coronavirus pandemic.

But he said he still saw crowds on the street and on public transport, increasing the risk that the virus can continue to spread amid a recent surge in infections.

“I hope companies that aren’t providing emergency services can allow staff to work from home for some time. It doesn’t have to be long, perhaps just one to two weeks. It can help break the chain of virus transmission in the community,” he said.

Asked if the government should take the lead to let civil servants work from home to encourage the private sector to do the same, Hui said he believed authorities would modify their strategy if the infection figures remain high in the coming days.

Health authorities have been reporting dozens of local Covid-19 cases each day recently. Two elderly patients who had come down with the disease died on Wednesday.

Hui said elderly citizens were seriously affected by this wave of infections as the virus is being spread in the community.

He advised public hospitals to carry out coronavirus tests on elderly patients even when they are admitted for other reasons.

He said this could prevent them from bringing the virus into the public hospitals and causing outbreaks there.

Meanwhile, Hong Kong University microbiologist Ho Pak-leung called on the government to close and disinfect indoor wet markets where confirmed Covid-19 cases have either worked at or visited.

Ho made the comments after it was revealed that some recently-confirmed coronavirus cases either worked at or had visited Pei Ho Street Market, Ngau Chi Wan Market, and Tsz Wan Shan Market.

He told a commercial radio programme that indoor markets are often crowded, which makes it easier for the virus to spread, and authorities should also restrict the number of people allowed to enter markets and require people to wear face masks before entering.