Nearly 800,000 Hong Kong residents had signed up online for the universal community testing program as of late Wednesday, with all time slots on the first two days (Tuesday-Wednesday) fully booked. This shows that public support for the campaign is undeniably strong because people understand the importance of nucleic acid testing for effective control of COVID-19 and appreciate the professional assistance provided by the central government.
There is universal consensus on the effectiveness of extensive testing to identify COVID-19 pathogen SARS-CoV-2 and its source through exhaustive contact tracing. It is the most viable way to cut off the chain of viral transmission and contain the spread of the pandemic. Without these steps, we may not be able to further ease anti-pandemic measures that are in the way of resuming normal economic activities. That is why many countries around the world, including developed economies such as Italy, Japan and the United States, are increasing such tests to contain the spread of COVID-19 in local communities.
Urban Hong Kong is among the most densely populated in the world — a reality that makes it a must for the city to undergo universal community testing if it wants to contain the spread of the pandemic and resume economic growth as soon as possible
The enthusiastic response to the testing program is also a resounding slap in the face of the opposition camp, particularly the “burn together” advocates within the separatist faction, who have launched a smear campaign against the testing as well as the specialists from the Chinese mainland who help carry out the testing. They went so far as to dismiss such testing as ineffective and a waste of resources, knowing they are practically calling their patrons in Washington and London stupid as well. They may enjoy living in their own bubble but cannot change the reality all around them. Moreover, by refusing to face the truth, they will only alienate themselves indefinitely.
The benefit of mass testing in densely populated urban communities has been proved in mainland cities such as Wuhan, Beijing and Shenzhen — Hong Kong’s neighbor, with which it is closely linked economically. Combined with the mobile phone app commonly known as a “health code”, such testing can help facilitate individual citizens’ access to most mainland locations as long as the “health code” is green, indicating the owner of the phone is free of COVID-19. It will save Hong Kong people a lot of time that would otherwise have been spent in quarantines every time they cross the boundary. It will also help Hong Kong to reopen its doors to mainland tourists with a green “health code”.
Urban Hong Kong is among the most densely populated in the world — a reality that makes it a must for the city to undergo universal community testing if it wants to contain the spread of the pandemic and resume economic growth as soon as possible. There is nothing more important than speeding up economic recovery by cutting off the chains of viral transmission as soon as their sources are identified. And the best way to do that here in Hong Kong is for local residents to enroll in the testing campaign. Apart from prompting the reopening of workplaces and essential services to the general public, it will also let non-essential facilities such as sports venues reopen with social-distancing and hygiene measures in place.
The special administrative region government has spent tens of billions of dollars in pandemic relief funds to help small- and medium-sized businesses ride out the economic slump caused by COVID-19. Although the city’s financial reserve remains healthy, it is certainly no reason to wait indefinitely for herd immunity to kick in, if that ever happens. Besides, many researchers and experts around the world agree the odds are high that the novel coronavirus will coexist with mankind forever. That means many anti-pandemic measures currently in force around the world will most likely become the “new normal”.
In fact, many virologists and epidemiologists are convinced that, given the pace at which the SARS-CoV-2 virus is evolving or mutating, large-scale testing and regular upgrades of testing methods will also become a “new normal” in the foreseeable future with or without a vaccine, because the latter cannot remain effective forever and is very time- and investment-consuming. Hong Kong doesn’t need to worry about COVID-19 vaccine supplies, because the mainland is the largest producer of most vaccines available today and will no doubt be the leading supplier of COVID-19 vaccines when they are approved for mass production. However, a future vaccine does not make extensive testing redundant.
Hong Kong, like all crowded cities around the world, should be aware of the need to conduct regular COVID-19 testing in the near future, maybe even after vaccination. Currently, such extensive testing may not be as universal as the World Health Organization advocates, but it is definitely being embraced by more and more governments as the best way to contain the pandemic and facilitate economic recovery. The great majority of Hong Kong residents have proved much better informed than the “burn together” advocates, and will support the SAR government in containing the pandemic.
The author is a current affairs commentator.
The views do not necessarily reflect those of China Daily.
