雙語社評齊齊聽

[英語 (足本收聽)] Presented by Dr CHAN, Weng-kit Danny, Lecturer of Hong Kong Community College, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University

[普通話 (足本收聽)] Presented by Dr CHOI, Wai-yuk, Lecturer of Hong Kong Community College, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University

The Lunar New Year is around the corner. However, as COVID-19 cases of unknown origin keep increasing, Hong Kong is on the brink of losing control of the pandemic. Two cluster infections, namely that of a pet shop and that of a South Asian woman, have continued to enlarge. There might be hidden chains of transmission in Sham Shui Po and Mei Foo, and many secondary schools have registered new cases. Given the significantly heightened risk of a massive outbreak and the fact that the vaccination rate in Hong Kong is merely 70%, tightening social distancing restrictions is the only option at present.

[ENG audio 1]

There has been an endless stream of bad news concerning the pandemic situation. The Centre for Health Protection (CHP) said yesterday (20 January) that 10 new local cases had been recorded in a single day. As for preliminary positive cases, there were even more than 20. Most of them were local cases, and at least 3 were of unknown origin. The fifth wave of the outbreak is like a Whac-A-Mole game. The case involving a teacher at a Mei Foo kindergarten, that of a Form Six student in Kwun Tong, that of an elderly man living in Kwai Chung Estate and the latest discovery of a preliminary positive case of a social worker are all very concerning. Sham Shui Po has also recorded many cases of infection day after day. Some samples of the sewage from the district tested positive, indicating the existence of hidden transmission in the community; evoking the nightmare of the outbreak at a tenement house, or 'Tong Lau', in the old district a year ago. The risks of transmission in this district are even higher than that in Tuen Mun, where an outbreak took place earlier. The government has called on people living and working in this district to get tested as soon as possible if feeling unwell. The public should cooperate with this call actively. Chuang Shuk-Kwan, head of the Communicable Disease Branch of the CHP, described the pandemic as ''starting to become very severe'' the other day. Yesterday she even issued a further warning that there is a risk of a major outbreak. Society as a whole must understand that we are now at a critical juncture for containing the pandemic. We cannot ignore the risks and act wilfully.

[ENG audio 2]

Cases of unknown origin aside, the pandemic is currently spreading along two ''fuses''. One is the cluster of Delta cases associated with the pet shop, and the other is the group of Omicron cases related to a South Asian woman who once stayed at a quarantine hotel. The South Asian woman infected her family, her son then infected a friend, opening the door for the virus to enter school grounds and ultimately causing a spread of the disease on campus. What is worrying about the case of the kindergarten teacher in Mei Foo is that she is now known to have brushed past the South Asian woman's two sons, both of whom now confirmed to have been infected, in the tunnel of an MTR station. All three of them were wearing masks and they had no direct contact. If this was really how the kindergarten teacher caught the virus, Omicron's high transmissibility can be clearly inferred.

[ENG audio 3]

Last year, Hong Kong was also under strict social distancing restrictions over the course of the Lunar New Year holiday. After the government announced yesterday the suspension of face-to-face lessons in secondary schools, anti-epidemic measures are now almost as strict as those that were in place during last year's Spring Festival, meaning that few social distancing measures can be further pursued. In theory, the authorities could order restaurants to limit their seating capacities to allow only two people per table. They could also issue a citywide work-from-home order. But it is believed that all the different sectors and citizens would hate to see such moves. Fighting the pandemic is a shared responsibility. People should exercise self-discipline by cutting back on cross-family gatherings, cooperating with the government's anti-epidemic advice and helping to reduce footfall in public spaces. All this will definitely help cut off the chains of transmission as soon as possible. An outbreak has occurred at Kwai Chung Estate. Given the limited number of government quarantine units and the lack of manpower for enforcing home quarantine on the spot, the situation is worrying. The authorities must mobilise their manpower and facilities flexibly to cope with the immediate crisis.

[ENG audio 4]

第五波疫情瀕失控 齊心抗疫務實為先

農曆新年將至，本港疫情瀕臨失控，源頭不明個案愈來愈多，寵物店及南亞婦人兩個感染群組持續擴大，深水埗和美孚料有隱形傳播鏈，多間中學出現確診個案，大爆發風險顯著上升，以本港只得七成的疫苗接種率，收緊社交限制，是眼前唯一選擇。

[PTH audio 1]

疫情壞消息不斷，衛生防護中心昨天表示，單日新增10宗本地感染個案，至於初陽個案更超過20宗，當中「較多是本地個案」，至少3宗源頭不明。第五波疫情火頭處處 ，美孚幼稚園教師、觀塘中六生、葵涌邨老翁，以至最新發現的初陽社工等，全屬惹人關注個案；深水埗連日出現多宗感染個案，區內污水檢測，有樣本呈陽性，反映社區有隱性傳播，勾起1年前舊區唐樓爆疫夢魘，傳播風險比早前爆疫的屯門區更高，當局呼籲區內居民及上班者如有不適盡快檢測，市民應積極配合。防護中心傳染病處主任張竹君繼日前形容疫情「開始非常嚴峻 」，昨天更進一步警告，疫情有大爆發風險。社會上下必須明白，現在是控疫關鍵時期，不能無視風險任性而為。

[PTH audio 2]

不計源頭未明個案，疫情現時正沿着兩條火線蔓延，一是與寵物店相關的Delta病毒株個案，一是與曾住檢疫酒店的南亞婦人有關的Omicron病毒株個案。南亞婦人感染家人，其子再則感染朋友，將病毒帶入校園，甚至引發校內傳播。美孚幼稚園教師個案令人憂慮之處，是目前知道她曾在港鐵站隧道，跟南亞婦人兩名確診兒子相遇，當時3人皆有戴口罩，亦無直接接觸，倘若幼稚園教師真的因此染疫，Omicron傳染力之強可見一斑。

[PTH audio 3]

去年香港同樣是在嚴限社交距離下過年，隨着昨天政府宣布中學暫停面試課堂，當下防疫措施之嚴，已跟去年春節相差無幾，可以再推的限制社交措施已然不多。理論上當局還可要求食肆限座每枱2人、全面在家工作，然而無論業界或市民，相信都不想走到這一步。抗疫是共同責任，市民自律減少跨家庭聚會，配合防疫呼籲，減少公眾場所人流，對於早日切斷傳播鏈，必有幫助。葵涌邨出現爆發，政府檢疫單位有限，原地檢疫家居隔離，又不夠人手配置，情况令人憂慮，當局必須靈活調動人手硬件，應付眼前危機。

[PTH audio 4]

明報社評2022.1.21