Frustration Boils Over HK Govt's Covid-19 Restrictions

Everyone wearing a mask while crossing the street in Central

After seeing the rest of the world open up and resume their lives post-Covid-19, Hongkongers are agitating for some semblance of normalcy too.

A recent survey has found 70 percent of Hong Kong residents believe the government should further relax Covid-19 curbs, while about half are against having a vaccine pass for children aged five to 11.

Interest in getting vaccinated has dropped off

The survey was conducted by the Hong Kong Institute of Asia-Pacific Studies of the Chinese University of Hong Kong between September 29 and October 14, interviewing 705 residents above the age of 18.

While it's a tiny data set, it does give a good indication of how people feel about Hong Kong being in a state of limbo. People must wear masks once they walk out of their homes, scan the dreaded LeaveHomeSafe app anywhere they go, and are constantly told to get vaccinated.

Here are the highlights of the survey:

38.5 percent of respondents were infected with Covid-19 this year;

52 percent said they had never contracted the virus;

62 percent said they were not worried about being infected;

68.9 percent believe the government should relax anti-pandemic curbs, while 10 percent prefer the measures to stay;

Less than 5 percent support further tightening the rules;

Respondents tired of scanning QR codes 

49 percent do not support the government's move to extend coverage of the vaccine pass to children aged five to 11;

56 percent are against forced mandatory vaccination on elderly people in care homes.

Many people complain about the effectiveness of the LeaveHomeSafe app, while others have said they traveled abroad without wearing a mask and didn't get infected -- so they are frustrated having to mask up when they are back in Hong Kong. 

Here in Vancouver there is a slight increase in people wearing masks, not quite half, but they are young and elderly, concerned about the Omicron variant that is spreading here now. They are wearing masks mostly on public transit and in enclosed areas like libraries and shops.

It's an informed choice people can make rather than it being forced on them -- British Columbia health officials feel they can only strongly advise people to wear masks in indoor spaces because a mask mandate will only cause more resistance to comply.

However across the Pacific in Hong Kong, everyone is forced to be compliant which only makes them grumble even more -- behind their masks!

Macau Locks Down to Stamp Out Omicron

Macau shuts down its casinos this week, gaming stocks fall

From today casinos in Macau will be shut for a week in a bid to clamp down on Covid-19 Omicron infections that have spiked -- to 71 infections on Saturday. It has a total of 1,526 infections. This compares to Hong Kong's 1.271 million cases.

For Macau 71 cases is a lot considering it had zero infections for the longest time, and the random case here and there.

This is the first time since February 2020 -- when the pandemic first began -- that casinos are closed temporarily. 

All residents will face a battery of PCR tests

When news broke about the impending lockdown, gaming shares fell between 6.1 percent for SJM Holdings, founded by the late casino tycoon Stanley Ho Hung-sun, and 7 percent for Sands China, a subsidiary of Las Vegas Sands.

Schools and entertainment venues, such as bars and cinemas had already closed because of rising infections and casinos were the last to shut down.

Only those businesses deemed essential are allowed to stay open, otherwise everyone else needs to stay at home. There is no dine-in service at restaurants either. 

The word is that Beijing is not happy with its "favourite child" up until now, and may be using the pandemic as an opportunity to take down the gambling industry several notches in an attempt to make Macau less dependent on gamblers.

However, this will be a tall order as this is the only industry modern Macau has known since the 1960s when Ho won the former Portuguese colony's monopoly gambling license.

Beijing plans to minimise gambling in Macau

In the meantime, while 91 percent of Macanese residents have received two doses of the vaccine -- many of which are probably Sinovac -- the numbers are even less clear for those who have gotten boosters.

Macau is like Hong Kong in that they are both at the mercy of China when it comes to reopening borders.

But Macau only has 600,000 people and doesn't have the volume to support the economy in the long term on its own, whereas Hong Kong still seems to find money to open restaurants and shops, though not at the rate of replacing the ones that have closed.

So we will eagerly watch what happens in Macau this week to see if the lockdown works according to the "zero Covid" strategy, and how the city will be remade even further into China's image...