Gov’t public health doctor hints at possible loosening of measures

Disease control measures may be loosened, when appropriate, if the city’s Covid-19 outbreak situation improves, public health doctor Leong Iek Hou, division head at Health Bureau (SSM), affirmed yesterday.

The public health doctor was questioned as to whether there will be a deadline for all regular SARS-CoV-2 nucleic acid tests (NATs).

For the past approximately 2.5 years, regular NATs were not required of the majority of local people, unless they worked in certain professions, such as in medicine, airlines, or working as couriers. For other people, NATs were only required on a case-by-case basis, such as when travelling to mainland China or attending certain events.

From last week, NATs have become regular for many people. All those who need to leave home for work are required to take a test every second day.

Leong did not give a direct answer to the aforementioned question at yesterday’s daily press briefing. However, she assured the public that disease control measures would be loosened in response to improving conditions, despite the fact that the government has the final say on whether the conditions are improving.

“In our initial plan, the consolidation period will be extended. If ideal results yield from the citywide NAT, we will immediately enter a period of stability,” she said, recapping her Wednesday announcements. “During the stability period, in venues where mask-wearing isn’t feasible, entry will be permitted with negative NAT results.”

Such venues will include private tuition and continuing education institutions, among other venues.

Moreover, she also said on Wednesday that the NAT drive for key groups will remain for a period of time even after the city goes into the stability period.

In general terms, the public health doctor said that these NAT requirements would persist for some time. However, she added that should conditions remain stable or even improve, these measures may be eased.

“Should the situation remain stable, epidemic control measures may loosen,” the public health doctor said. “This has to be based on the stability of our overall epidemic condition.”

Today the government will announce details on the upcoming citywide SARS-CoV-2 nucleic acid test (NAT), which will take place this Saturday and Sunday, Leong said. In addition, she said that there should not be any major change to the NAT drive, although minor adjustments to venues and schedules may be possible.

She was also asked whether new key groups or areas for NATs will be designated. On this, the public health doctor said given the proximity of the citywide NAT drive, no additional key groups or areas will be identified, unless the condition suddenly becomes unstable.

The city’s 13 rounds of mass NAT drive did not run completely seamlessly, as another case of test operators losing specimens was reported yesterday at the press briefing. A journalist revealed that some residents had their health codes turn yellow because they were suspected of having skipped NATs, even though they had not.

In response, Leong admitted to receiving “scattered reports,” adding that the health agency is now in negotiations with test operators.

“We are looking for weaknesses in the process and these are only isolated cases,” she guaranteed.

license renewal await resumption 

As there has still not been a complete resumption of public health center services, parents have been waiting for infant healthcare and vaccination, as some journalists reported at the press briefing.

During the 10 days of de-facto lockdown, public services were in complete suspension. Infants having regular services at public health centers had their bookings cancelled due to the suspension of the service.

Dr. Lei Wai Seng, medical director at the public hospital, tried to calm concerned parents by announcing that the health agency is gradually contacting affected parents to rebook them for infant healthcare and vaccination.

The medical doctor implied that a week or two’s delay in infant vaccination would not be a serious problem. With packed schedules, health centers are trying their best to accommodate all delayed bookings as soon as possible.

Meanwhile, health centers are prioritizing emergencies, Lei added.

Protests were raised at the briefing about elderly people who could not get their driving licenses renewed as they could not get their eyesight tested at the public health centers.

Reiterating that the centers are focused on more urgent cases for the time being, Lei asked affected people to take the test at private clinics.

Later, it was revealed that the complaints came from people above 65 years of age. Drivers in this age group must undergo their health check-up, including eye sight tests, at government health facilities. On this, the public hospital doctor did not provide a response.

Moreover, when asked about resumption of the public service, Lei asked affected service users to access websites or directly contact the concerned bureaus for information on arrangements for emergencies. Services available online should be conducted so, he said, adding that non-emergency matters should be suspended until full resumption.

private course difficulties

It was raised at the press briefing that some parents could not agree with private tuition or extracurricular education institutions on teaching arrangements for their children’s courses.

On this, Leong I On, division head at Education and Youth Development Bureau (DSEDJ), said that, so far, 60 parents had contacted the bureau for assistance, concerning a total of 25 such institutions.

“The requests were, in general, about institutions adjusting the mode or time of services,” the education official said, adding that these parents could not agree with service providers, so they invited DSEDJ to intervene in the matter.

Progress has been made since then, the education official highlighted, with a majority of these 60 parents having made deals with respective service providers. Only a handful could still not do so, the education official said.

For these cases, additional procedures and legal apparatus are needed, Leong said.

“For example, other government bureaus or departments will be invited to take part in negotiations and employ legal tools, such as arbitration,” Leong disclosed, assuring that the education bureau would continue its efforts in intervening in such disputes.

75 more residents discharged from quarantine 

Yesterday saw 75 more people discharged from either quarantine or hospitalization, with 39 from the former and 36 from the latter. Since June 18, the city has seen 1,218 released from confinement. Six deaths with Covid-19 have been recorded so far, all patients with chronic illnesses.

Since June 18, the city has identified 1,819 positive cases.