Residents consider halting the city ‘not ideal’

Several residents have divided opinions regarding the ban on people leaving their homes unless essential. 

The government has announced that from July 11 to 18, all industrial and commercial sites are temporarily closed, but companies or places that are necessary to maintain society operation and residents’ health will not be affected. 

The government emphasized that this is not a lockdown, but rather a measure to keep society safe by minimizing the flow of people.

Some residents who were interviewed by the Times expressed their different opinions on the policies yesterday. 

“I believe that the policies can effectively control the rising number of positive cases,” said Wong Heng Wa, a local realtor.

Wong has confidence in the government’s policies. He said that under the policies of prohibiting leaving the home, the Covid-19 outbreak will improve. 

On the other hand, some residents, including a 58-year-old construction worker, have expressed opposing opinions about the policies.

For Tang Man Heng, the policy is not helping the current outbreak, noting that the current imposition of a “semi-lockdown” is “not ideal.”

“The number of positive cases is still rising because the government did not prohibit residents from leaving the home earlier,” said Tang. 

Tang said that during the pandemic last year, the government quickly announced that all residents were not allowed to go outside, so the pandemic was effectively controlled in a short period of time, and the number of positive cases stopped rising.

He expressed that the government needed to do the same in this outbreak, but now the virus has spread in the community and the government’s policies are not effective. 

“I’m scared to go to work now, even the head of the company called and asked why I didn’t go to work,” Tang said.

Another resident echoed similar sentiments, saying, “The current government’s policies are not good enough.”

Surnamed Hoi, the 26-year-old former employee of a clothing store, mourns the job she lost due to the pandemic and now relies on her personal savings. Moreover, she described the policies prohibiting people from going outside as making the public’s life more difficult.

Hoi hopes the government can consider the views of the residents when dealing with the pandemic. Staff Reporter