Missing Dolly Parton

On Tuesday it was such a shock to hear the news that Dolly Parton had died at the age of 80. She was such a force of good underneath that towering head of blonde hair, and buxom figure, walking around in high heels and long acrylic nails.

I didn't understand her look, which she joked cost a lot of money to look cheap, but she has said in several interviews she loved to dress up, and that was her idea of beauty.

She was the fourth of 12 children, their father a farmer who was poor and they lived in a one-room cabin in rural Tennessee with no running water. Is it any wonder she thought that dressing up was glamorous?

Parton was never ashamed of her lowly background either. In fact she was proud of her father who she said was illiterate, but very smart. It was because of him that she started the Imagination Library, where children who are enrolled receive a book each month from their birth until they enter kindergarten.

Some people on social media have thanked Parton for giving them books to read. One journalist thanked her for the books, and she graciously accepted the praise.

We cannot forget that during the Covid-19 pandemic, she donated US$1 million to the Vanderbilt University Medical Center to develop what was eventually the Moderna vaccine. She gave that funding at a critical time and got a dose of her own medicine in March 2021 with a jab.

She donated money to victims of wildfires in 2016, and Hurricane Helene, giving them money every month for several months to help them get back on their feet.

Her sunny attitude was irrepressible. She always had something nice to say about everyone, and was quick to make fun of herself. One time she was in Los Angeles and heard about a Dolly Parton lookalike drag queen contest and secretly signed up. 

She said that she slightly exaggerated her look, with bigger red lips and a bigger mole and sashayed on stage, but got the least applause. The winner? A man. And she had a hoot.

We miss Parton dearly for bringing rays of sunshine into the world and setting an example to others of how to use their money for good. Despite all the donations she made, and spending on outlandish costumes, she still leaves behind a US$500 million fortune which ain't shabby at all.

Parton worked hard all her life and deserves her beauty rest.

Thank you Dolly! We will always love you.

Review: Against the Grain

O'Reilly profiles an array of outstanding trailblazers

Back in October, ad man Terry O'Reilly presented his latest book, Against the Grain: Defiant Giants Who Changed the World at the Vancouver Writers Festival in Granville Island. He is well known among CBC Radio listeners for his show, Under the Influence, where he talks about different aspects of advertising through actual case studies.

Against the Grain profiles 19 people who were trailblazers in their respective fields, and in particular when others either criticised them or scorned them.

There's Gustave Eiffel who was a brilliant engineer and owned his own iron-production factory, but Parisians hated his design for the Eiffel Tower. Nevertheless, he persisted and was smart enough to sell shares to fund the tower as well as take in revenues from entrance fees and from the restaurants and cafes on the structure.

Another is Suzanne Simard, who saw how clear-cutting and planting new trees didn't necessarily mean a new forest would grow back in a healthy way. She discovered that in the forest, there are "mother trees" that other trees depend on for nourishment, and that they communicate with each other through an underground network. Simard also found some tree species have a symbiotic relationship, like the paper birch and Douglas fir. 

However, the forestry industry didn't believe her until her findings were finally published in a peer-reviewed publication. She wrote her first book, Finding the Mother Tree, and has just recently published a follow-up, When the Forest Breathes.

Interestingly O'Reilly includes former Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, more for his positive election campaign in 2015. Refusing to do the usual attack ads against his opponent, incumbent Stephen Harper, Trudeau instead offered a more hopeful and optimistic vision if he was in charge and won over a lot of young voters. 

Taylor Swift is also a good choice to profile, though many people under the age of 50 already know all about her. But O'Reilly found her a fascinating business person who genuinely loves her fans and finds ways to interact with them on her terms. 

Some were bused to Swift's home where she made cookies and took pictures with every single one, or made hospital visits, and donated to the food bank of every city she holds a concert in. In addition, following her Eras tour, she gave out millions of dollars worth of bonuses to everyone from the musicians and dancers to the truck drivers hauling all the equipment for the shows.

I enjoyed reading the chapter on Roger Neilson, the former head coach of the Vancouver Canucks in the 1980s. Turns out he was a baseball fanatic more than a hockey one. His interesting obsession was to memorise the rule book and find creative (and sometimes funny) ways to get around them, or use it to call out the opposing team to his advantage. 

The Canucks were in the Stanley Cup finals in 1982 and it was Neilson who inspired fans to wave white towels during the games. I remember that clearly in high school, as a classmate's father was a big Canucks fan and she told us about the white towels.

Against the Grain was written very similar to the way O'Reilly presents his radio show, and when reading the stories, you can almost hear him reading them too. 

However, there are some stories with complicated concepts to explain, like Simard's theories on forests and Katalin Kariko on developing mRNA vaccines that helped protect people against Covid-19, that O'Reilly kind of glosses over their scientific importance. He's good at giving context to advertising giants like Albert D Lasker and Bill Bernbach, but science is O'Reilly's weak spot.

Nevertheless, Against the Grain is a good roundup for fascinating individuals who were determined to follow their instincts or beliefs despite the chorus of criticism against them. In particular Richard Williams' story of manifesting Venus and Serena Williams into champion tennis players even before they were born is a crazy fairy tale that really came true. Definitely an example of someone going against the grain.

Canada Wasted Millions of Covid Vaccines

Canada wasted over 14 million vaccine doses this year

Previously when I was in Hong Kong I and many others thought it was outrageous that the local government wasted 1 million Covid-19 doses of vaccines, but that was hardly as egregious as Canada, which threw out a whopping 14.4 million vaccine doses this year.

Over a week ago the influential British Medical Journal named Canada one of the world's worst vaccine "hoarders."

Health officials encouraging people to get booster

By December 2020, the Liberal government "boasted" securing more doses per capita than any other country in the world -- "up to 429 million doses of seven different vaccines, roughly 11 for each of Canada's 38 million inhabitants," researchers wrote in the BMJ's special Canada Covid series.

Granted at the time it was not clear which of the vaccines would be the best at keeping the virus at bay, but researchers wrote what was harder to understand was why Canada did not redistribute vaccines to countries that needed it "once it became apparent that Canada would have more than enough."

So the Hong Kong government looks so much better than Canada's in calculating how many vaccines it needed...

In the meantime Canadian health officials are advising citizens to get the next booster in the fall, which is supposed to focus on a variant of the XBB variant which is thought to be the most immune-dodging Covid variant yet.

Only 26 percent Canadians have bivalent shot

About 83 percent of the population has had at least two doses of the vaccine, though only 26 percent have had a dose of the bivalent vaccine. 

The government is trying to get everyone on the same page and get the upcoming vaccine so that everyone will be immunised.

But there are fears that most people will ignore the call, as they think Covid is over and life is getting back to normal. 

In the meantime I'm still floored by the wastage of over 14 million vaccine doses. Like WOW.

Chinese Tourists Gamble and Get Vaccinated in Macau

Since last month Macau began vaccinating Chinese visitors

Chinese travellers to Macau are not just going to the gambling tables at the casinos, but also heading to a designated immunisation clinic to get mRNA vaccines in their arms.

As the Covid-19 restrictions are being lifted in China, the number of infections are exploding and some people are trying to do whatever they can to protect themselves.

While the Pfizer BioNTech vaccine is used in Macau and Hong Kong, it is not approved for use in China.

Macau University of Science and Technology

But last month Macau's Covid-19 Infection Response Coordination Centre announced it was lifting restrictions on vaccinations for short-stay visitors.

Since then, the Macau University of Science and Technology Hospital -- the only vaccination site offering mRNA vaccines for tourists -- is now the place mainland visitors go to these days.

However, they are getting the mRNA vaccine that fights against the original Covid-19 strain and not the newest bivalent one that targets both Covid-19 and omicron.

In addition, the shots aren't free -- mainland tourists must shell out between HK$1,360 to HK$1,650 (US$175-US$212) per shot.

Mainland tourists cannot go to Hong Kong yet as the border still remains closed, but some Chinese visitors in Macau who got inoculated hope to get another dose in Hong Kong.

How fascinating that Macau has become a vaccination destination, and Hong Kong may soon become one too. That said the Hong Kong government had thrown out the idea of becoming a place for medical tourism... this might be the chance...

Beijing funeral homes inundated with bodies

Meanwhile on the mainland there are no accurate numbers of cases of Covid-19 infections, but what is for sure is the number of bodies arriving at morgues and funeral homes.

In Beijing, there are two designated funeral homes that are allowed to cremate those who have passed from Covid-19 and an Associated Press reporter saw about a dozen bodies delivered to one funeral home within one hour.

The Wall Street Journal is reporting about 200 bodies arriving daily, and quoting one crematoria worker as saying, "It's 24 hours a day. We can't keep up."

Usually a few dozen bodies are cremated daily. 

The government has not reported any new deaths from Covid-19 since it relaxed its pandemic restrictions on December 7. The official death count is 5,235.

However, a University of Hong Kong study predicts nearly 1 million people could die from Covid-19 without a massive fourth dose vaccination campaign, a supply of antiviral drugs and social-distancing measures.

The funeral homes and crematoriums will be literally burning the midnight oil for the next few months... the number of lives lost is a painful cost for insisting on the zero-Covid path for the longest time...

China's Chaotic U-Turn on Zero-Covid

Men dressed in hazmat suits don't have much to do these days

After Beijing lifted several Covid-19 restrictions, people in China are terrified of going out or they have caught the virus and are self-isolating themselves.

If people are out on the streets, they are desperately trying to secure medicine to treat their symptoms, and in some cases are scouring supermarkets because they believe canned peaches can somehow cure them of Covid-19 even though the government has debunked the rumour.

Canned peaches rumoured to cure Covid-19

Meanwhile, hospitals are overwhelmed by patients coming in, some Covid-19 positive, others fearing they have the symptoms; healthcare workers have no choice but to continue working even if they have Covid.

At Haidian Hospital in Beijing, there was a sign at the pharmacy window that read: "All pharmacists on duty are sick -- please bear with us."

"A lot of doctors are sick with Covid-19 as well but have to report for duty because otherwise the hospital cannot open," a hospital administrator said, declining to be identified. "We must keep the hospital up and running."

The chaotic sudden U-turn on zero-Covid has resulted in businesses unable to open or function properly, affecting not only small shops, but also factories supplying to global supply chains.

Health officials and state media have urged people not to panic and manage their symptoms at home unless they are seriously ill. In its news stories and editorials, state media have tried to play down the virus, when for almost three years it had repeatedly told people to be fearful of the virus and how it was deadly.

Long lines to buy medicine in pharmacies

But it seems China had no plan for a gradual opening by making sure a higher percentage of the elderly were inoculated and in particular with foreign-made mRNA vaccines. Instead people are left to their own devices and many are terrified.

The Financial Times is reporting that Hong Kong health experts were consulted about how to reopen just before the protests happened in China. What advice did they give and was it followed exactly? Winter is not the best time to reopen with influenza going around too, along with not enough people vaccinated. It's a right royal mess.

One has to wonder -- is Beijing doing this to say to the people, "You are tired of the Covid-19 restrictions then fine! Now you can have your so-called freedom! Do you see how chaotic everything is? Is this how you want your country to be post-Covid?"

The abrupt changes are so overwhelming for everyone that one wonders if Beijing actually knows what it's doing, or it is using this opening up to punish everyone?

Get the Fourth Jab Now

Over 81 percent of fourth jabs in HK are the bivalent vaccine

It is heartening to know a lot of people in Hong Kong have signed up to have the bivalent booster vaccine, a five-fold jump from last week.

Leung says fourth jab prevents severe illness

A week ago, 9,232 people got the fourth shot, but this week it jumped to 47,742, with 81 percent of them opting for the BioNTech bivalent jab, the rest Sinovac.

Respiratory specialist Dr Leung Chi-chiu appealed to the elderly and other high-risk groups, including those living in care homes and those who are immunocompromised or suffering from chronic diseases to get their fourth shot, as the number of infected cases is on the rise.

"A fourth jab is mainly to prevent hospitalisation, severe illness and death," he said.

The last point should be enough to motivate people, no?

University of Hong Kong microbiologist Dr Ho Pak-leung said the government should encourage residents 6o years and older to get their fourth dose as soon as possible. 

Ho says over 700K elderly still need fourth jab

He cited 95 percent of the city's virus-related fatalities last month involved people who were above the age of 60. Ho added 700,000 elderly were eligible to get the fourth jab but still hadn't done so.

Seriously -- what are they waiting for?

Hong Kong, China Still Hanging Onto Zero-Covid

Use of the Leave Home Safe app may not last much longer

Hong Kong may soon take another step forward to becoming "normal" when it ends the use of the Leave Home Safe app, which contained the user's vaccination record as well as every place they went to provided they scanned QR codes at each location.

The announcement was made by Undersecretary for Health Libby Lee Ha-yun on Friday, a day after the government announced infected residents and close contacts would be quarantined for five days instead of seven.

"Hong Kong is on the path to normality. We don't want to roll back measures. Residents will not need to use the 'Leave Home Safe' app and vaccine pass eventually. It is just a matter of time."

Lee admits the app isn't used to track infections

She even admitted the government rarely used the app to track contacts of Covid-19 patients as infections surged. But Lee also stressed social-distancing measures could not be relaxed yet with the increased number of infected cases.

However, her superior, Secretary for Health Lo Chung-mau said the app would not be cancelled anytime soon even though Beijing began easing restrictions, including not needing a negative test to use public transport.

"The health code system on the mainland is nothing like our 'Leave Home Safe' app and vaccine pass scheme," he said. "We won't simply cancel these measures because the mainland did so.

"These measures have played an important role in controlling the pandemic, especially the vaccine pass scheme. It's the reason why we have a high vaccination rate."

Perhaps it's because people need to eat and shop so they have no choice but to use the app?

Lo says app won't be given up just yet

While Beijing has probably eased restrictions in Hong Kong to use it as a guinea pig to see what would happen, China has started to loosen up -- just a tiny bit -- but it has a long way to go.

The country still can't afford to open up right away, which is why there are projections China may open up as early as late 2023 or even early 2024. More people need to be vaccinated -- but with mRNA vaccines that Beijing still hasn't admitted to be used to inoculate its citizens.

In the meantime articles in state media are starting to talk about how being infected with the Covid-19 virus is nothing to be scared about, that one could be cured in hospital quite easily or even just several days rest at home.

But it's been drilled into Chinese people's heads that the virus and its variants are deadly and it will take some time before everyone is less paranoid about the coronavirus.

The Hong Kong and Chinese governments have used the Covid social-distancing measures and forced use of the Leave Home Safe app as a form of control, which they have effectively used for almost three years, but they aren't quite ready to completely relinquish it.

Zero-Covid is still the goal, and both authorities will drag things out as long as possible to justify the means to an end...

East Versus West in Dealing with Covid-19

Everyone must wear a mask outside in Hong Kong

Big news in Hong Kong -- anyone arriving in the city from November 21 will only have to do 10 Covid-19 tests instead of 12!

Currently they need to do eight rapid antigen tests (RAT) and four polymerase chain reaction (PCR), but now they can do two less PCR tests. Whoo hoo!

The government says 82 percent of infected arrivals were detected through the first two PCR tests, and only 0.4 and 0.1 percent of infections were found in later tests.

Arrival passengers have 2 less PCR tests to take

Are two fewer tests going to entice more people to come to Hong Kong? Hardly.

But mask mandates are still in force and enforced as soon as you step out of your home. Everywhere from the MTR and bus to shopping malls, supermarkets, and concerts, people must wear masks unless you're eating in a restaurant or eatery, or having a drink.

Children wear masks in the classroom, and need to decipher what the teacher is saying from behind his or her mask. For some young children, wearing a mask is all they know. 

Meanwhile in British Columbia, the provincial health authority stopped short of calling for a mask mandate, despite the rising number of children with respiratory illnesses and hospitals' capacities to the brink.

"I don't believe we need that heavy hand of a mandate," said Provincial Health Officer Dr Bonnie Henry. "I don't see the need for a mask mandate by itself because we have many other tools and a high level of protection."

Henry stops short of calling for a mask mandate

She said mask mandates were in place before because Covid-19 vaccines weren't available for children, and people were getting sick from gathering.

"In that context, masks were important and necessary. We are in a different situation now. We have a very high level of immunity. We have vaccines. We have treatments for influenza, for Covid-19, for RSV," she said.

But only 50 percent of children have had a first Covid-19 jab. 

RSV is respiratory synctial virus that causes infections in the lungs and respiratory tract.

Some parents, teachers and doctors are calling for a mask mandate or at least mandatory masking in indoor places, but Henry and Health Minister Adrian Dix refuse to call for this, only encouraging people to wear masks in settings where it makes sense -- on transit, in crowds, and when sick -- masks are mandatory when in hospitals and long-term care homes.

What's wrong with "strongly recommend"? People may have Covid fatigue, but Covid isn't tired of us, as one health professional in Ontario said last week.

People won't take masking seriously in BC

The more people mask up, then fewer will end up in hospital and fewer healthcare workers will be overwhelmed and sick too.

But not even saying "strongly recommend" makes it hard for people to take masking seriously. No wonder this pandemic will never end... Hong Kong on the one hand is extreme in its Covid-19 regulations, and British Columbia is too lax on the other. 

In general there is a slight increase in people wearing masks in Vancouver, but not enough...

China Finally Easing Covid Restrictions

Lockdown scenes like this will be disappearing in China

There is big news from China -- it is finally beginning to ease Covid-19 restrictions and it's quickly being reflected on the bourses in Hong Kong and Shanghai. The Hang Seng Index jumped 7.7 percent to end trading at 17,319.76.

Those traveling to the mainland will only quarantine for five days compared to seven previously, and then three days of home monitoring.

More importantly the practice of cancelling international flights if there are too many infections on previous flights will be scrapped. 

There will be increased flights to/from China

This was a major barrier to not only people returning, but also those making business trips. Once the number of flights ramp up, ticket prices will finally go down.

Travelers coming to China only need to show one PCR negative test taken 48 hours before boarding, while close contacts of a positive infection will only be quarantined for five days instead of seven.

In addition, the State Council announced that Covid-19 testing will only be conducted in key areas where cases have been detected. Previously an entire region would undergo mass testing despite no recorded outbreaks in the wider area. Now they will focus testing when the source and chains of infection and transmission are unclear.

And finally the government is prioritising vaccinations, particularly among the elderly, and developing vaccines with "broad-spectrum protection" -- perhaps a euphemism for bivalent? Foreign-made?

Strange that the State Council did not announce this during the national congress, or was it for Xi to show off to the country and the world his unyielding power and then now quietly admit it's time to start moving on like everyone else?

Finally more elderly will be boosted with jabs

While this is good news for everyone, it is probably too late to salvage the economy, particularly when it is related to global trade. Foreign companies have already begun or already detached themselves from the Chinese supply chain and sourcing products and services elsewhere.

Even though state media seems to think, or wants people to believe China's economy will bounce back right away once the restrictions are relaxed are kidding themselves, and the domestic market has no appetite for consumption. Even the uber rich are looking to exit the country as they feel uneasy under Xi's rule.

Still a long ways yet from regular tourists coming to China, but at least business travelers who need to go there can do so with a bit less trepidation.

Getting HK Priorities Straight

Diners are flocking to Tung Po Kitchen for the last hurrah

The famous or infamous Tung Po Kitchen is closing today (September 2 Hong Kong time) after 30 years. It's a dai pai dong in the Java Road Municipal Services Building, in other words, the North Point wet market. 

It took over a big area of  the cooked food area of the wet market, its owner Robby Cheung a charismatic frontman, who entertained guests by opening beer bottles with a chopstick, and joined them in drinking beers in ceramic bowls, along with singing and dancing.

Owner Robby Cheung (left) is a lively character

The Hong Kong Food and Environmental Hygiene Department cracked down on the eatery, saying that in an investigation since May 2021, Tung Po was suspected of having illegal subleases by four tenants, and in fact they did not operate as sole proprietors, and therefore in breach of their tenancy agreements.

Tung Po tried to appeal, but it was rejected and now must close.

I have eaten there twice, the first time with a group of colleagues and enjoyed the delicious claypot dishes like braised tofu or vermicelli with melon and dried shrimp, as well as claypot rice, along with steamed razor clams, and clams stirfried with black bean sauce.

The second time I went with YTSL and I ordered braised eggplant with minced pork. I should have waited for it to cool down and managed to burn my throat -- very painful! I left the next day for New York and even went to the hospital emergency to get it checked out. All I could do was keep gargling some green medicated liquid to keep my throat clean. The only thing I could eat pain-free was ice cream for a few days. 

Seafood dishes well known, lotus-wrapped rice

So while I don't miss the greasy floors and plastic stools, it is infuriating to see the government has suddenly decided to enforce laws now, when Tung Po had been violating it for years.

The same goes for illegal kaito ferry boats, some of which, it has been discovered, are operating without licenses. Some are rented out for outings by customers, others service outlying islands and transport people to and from Hong Kong Island mostly in the evenings.

Apparently the Marine Department conducted over 45 special patrols between 2017 and 2020 and says the number of inspections has to be stepped up to crack down on illegal kaito services.

Does this sudden crackdown on services and businesses using colonial laws have to do with the fact that a former cop is now Hong Kong's leader?

HK can't splurge on BioNTech jabs for kids?

People have complained that groups of police officers are on the prowl for any groups of more than four people on the street together to fine them HK$5,000 each, while four robbers got away with over HK$10 million in luxury watches after robbing a Causeway Bay shop.

What kind of law and order is happening in Hong Kong these days?

Meanwhile the government doesn't seem to value its next generation and won't procure BioNTech vaccines for children six months to three years old because it's "too pricey". Children can only get Sinovac shots.

On Thursday the number of Covid-19 cases jumped to 10,586, the first time since late March when the cases hit over 10,000. 

The percentage of vaccinations in children aged six months to three years is only at 11.7 percent of the total age group, and health officials are urging parents to get their children jabbed as school starts.

Over HK$330M for quarantine camps in Lantau

But why are these kids being treated different from adults, who get to choose between Sinovac and BioNTech?

It's not surprising some parents are cautious about vaccinations and having a choice would motivate them to get their children inoculated.

Meanwhile the government spent HK$330 million on three Covid-19 quarantine camps near Disneyland, and over HK$500 million on PCR tests since July 1 this year.

Differing Vaccine Strategies

Hong Kong has consistently encouraged people to get jabbed

Today is the 900th day Hong Kong has dealt with the Covid-19 pandemic. 

What a milestone.

The city recorded 2,791 cases yesterday, with hospitalisations and critical care cases climbing steeply.

In this context the new Secretary for Health Lo Chung-mau says Hong Kong is mulling adopting the health code now used on the mainland and Macau.

Lo considering China health code system in HK

He said the measure was justified, as the government was looking for ways to avoid further tightening of social-distancing measures.

Just another step in dragging Hong Kong closer to the mainland...

Meanwhile in British Columbia where the population is 5.2 million compared to Hong Kong's 7.3 million, the former reported 765 cases from June 26-July 2. The week before it was 620 cases.

There is also a steep 35 percent jump in hospitalisations compared to the week earlier.

In BC 91 percent of residents have had two shots.

In Hong Kong anyone can get inoculated anytime as long as they book an appointment online, and they are strongly advised to get the fourth dose.

British Columbia is taking a bizarre approach -- Dr Penny Ballem, head of the province's immunisation program announced yesterday that the big push for the fourth shot would launch in the fall, when the current third wave of Omicron is at its highest. 

People below 70 wait until fall for 2nd booster

It is believed at that time the newest vaccines will be available, which can not only fight the newest variants, but also the original Covid-19.

Only those who are 70 years old and older are eligible to get the second booster now, while the rest of us have to wait, which is very frustrating.

Some people have taken to social media to complain that they need the fourth shot now because they have immunocompromised parents who they look after or live with, or they themselves have health issues, or they just want to get the vaccine in their arm for some assurances they will be OK if they are infected.

Why can't people who want to have the second booster, get it before the third Omicron wave is at its highest?

But BC health authorities are ignoring these people, and instead want those who haven't had their first booster to do that. Every other province in Canada is encouraging people to get their second booster.

However, the BC government had to dump 200,000 doses of the vaccine because some people didn't want their third or fourth shots...

Ballem says third Omicron wave is in BC

Many people in BC are over Covid-19 even though this latest strain is more contagious; health authorities are highly recommending masks indoors in places like supermarkets and public transit, and washing hands thoroughly and often.

And with summer sort of here (it keeps raining periodically and temperatures are hardly scorching), people even more so don't want to wear a mask.

Hello? What about the rest of us who want that fourth dose now?

It boggles the mind... at least in Hong Kong vaccines are readily available regardless of which dose you're on. They would rather you have a vaccine in your arm than none at all. 

And those of us who had our shots in December and January, Dr Horatio Bach, a UBC clinical assistant professor says those who have only had two shots offered "very little or zero protection" against Omicron BA.5 variant in Israel where second boosters were rolled out in January.

I'd rather have a fourth and then fifth shot soon after than have to wait another until the fall.

Or am I being overly cautious?

Health Minister Criticised for Pandemic Fifth Wave Response

Chan shed a few tears in her last meeting with Legco

Yesterday at her last meeting with the Legislative Council, outgoing Secretary for Food and Health Sophia Chan Siu-chee shed a few tears as she thanked Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-gnor for having trust in her.

When she leaves office on June 30, Chan will have completed 10 years in the civil service, the last few years undoubtedly the most challenging on her career in having to deal with the response to Covid-19 in Hong Kong.

However, many believe she and her department could have done much more, particularly prior to the fifth wave in getting more elderly vaccinated, which could have mitigated the number of deaths during this period, as well as handed out rapid antigen tests and masks to the vulnerable.

Ho criticised government's response to fifth wave

How can anyone forget the scenes outside public hospitals where elderly patients were left there in the elements because there wasn't enough bed space. Those images were shocking and shameful.

Microbiologist Ho Pak-leung called on the government to apologise to residents for its failure to deal with the city's outbreaks.

On a radio show, he slammed Chan for failing to prepare appropriate Covid responses, even though Hong Kong had long been achieving Covid-zero before the fifth wave of the epidemic started.

Ho said Chan wasted time in not getting more of the elderly vaccinated before the fifth wave, which resulted in a spike in deaths. Ho said this taught Hong Kong a "painful lesson".

He called on the current government to issue a formal apology to its citizens or build a monument in memory of those who died during the city's fifth wave.

While a formal apology would be nice, the monument would be overboard... unless for propaganda purposes...

Seniors lying outside hospitals with no space

Yesterday Hong Kong recorded 1,323 cases, and Dr Chuang Shuk-kwan from the Centre for Health Protection is warning the number could go up to 2,000 soon.

"We are seeing a slow increase, a gradual increase in the number of cases recently and there have been no signs of decreasing in the past few days," Chuang said. "We expect the cases will be going up and may exceed 2,000 in the near future."

But she also noted the number of hospital admissions and severe cases and deaths is stable.

This does not bode well for the upcoming July 1 anniversary... it looks less likely Chinese leader Xi Jinping will come down here for mark the 25th anniversary of Hong Kong's handover to China.

Does this mean Premier Li Ke-qiang is going instead?

The intrigue continues...

Hong Kong Changes Covid-19 Rules Again

Chan says they need to protect the elderly

Outgoing Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor said over a week ago that Covid-19 social-distancing restrictions would not change until the change of leader on July 1.

But now with the rising number of cases that could hit 1,000, Lam's administration is saying that from Thursday, those people who patronise bars and clubs should test negative for Covid-19 in the past 24 hours before entering.

Patrons need negative test for bars, night clubs

There have been 350 infections since bars and clubs reopened last month.

Secretary for Food and Health Sophia Chan Siu-chee told a daily pandemic briefing that this new measure needed to be taken because the number of cases are rising.

"It is important for us to not allow this spread to go wild," she explained. "Because of this spread goes wild, then there is always the possibility of going into our elderly community. And this is our priority group we have to protect, as we learn from the previous experience of the fifth wave."

How does people going to nightclubs and bars have any connection with elderly people?

And if the government wants to protect the elderly, perhaps it should get more of these seniors vaccinated, because only 27 percent of them are double jabbed. That is an appallingly low number. In Canada people 80 and over who have two doses is at 98.5 percent.

How are the authorities going to protect the elderly by getting bar and nightclub customers to present a negative Covid-19 test? Seems like a massive stretch to solve the issue.

It's so easy to fake a negative RAT result

Also -- has the government thought how bars and clubs would police this? How easy is it to present a picture of a negative rapid antigen test from days earlier -- or even someone else's photo of a RAT?

On Twitter people were sarcastically saying they could make a quick buck selling negative RATs, but it would be even easier to get a picture of a negative RAT result?

It's absolutely ridiculous and at the same time will make bars and clubs suffer even more when they are struggling to climb out of the red after months of being shut because of the pandemic. How is someone getting infected from a bar different from a restaurant, where eight people can sit at a table for hours until midnight?

It boggles the mind...

China's Never-ending Covid Strategy

WHO's Tedros says China's zero-Covid is unsustainable

The World Health Organisation has told China that its zero-Covid strategy is not sustainable and that it needs to find a way to transition out of it. 

But China seems to be doubling down with Shanghai still under lockdown after 51 days and in Beijing, workers in full PPE gear are putting up razor wire on the walls of compounds to prevent residents from leaving.

"When we talk about the zero-Covid strategy, we don't think that it's sustainable considering the behaviour of the virus now and what we anticipate in the future," WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on Tuesday.

Shanghai's lockdown has left residents depressed

"We have discussed about the issue with Chinese experts and we indicated that the approach will not be sustainable. Transiting into another strategy will be very important."

Interesting Tedros is saying this now, over two years later -- as he was previously a champion of China's methods of stamping out the virus. Does this mean the WHO will also quietly stop endorsing Chinese-made vaccines using dead viruses and using TCM to treat symptoms?

Nevertheless, it's a significant shift for the WHO, but will China listen?

Chinese state media is parroting how the zero-Covid strategy is working well, but doesn't taken into account the economic price the country is paying, let alone its citizens' financial and mental health.

People are frustrated, angry, depressed and desperate being prevented from leaving their homes, unable to get enough food to eat, unable to earn a living, and wondering when this will all end.

In Shanghai they shouted from their apartments, banged on pots and pans, sent out as many messages as they could to the outside world, including a video compiled on April 6 of their desperation, and there are videos of them physically fighting with people in white PPE suits.

Beijingers are wondering if they are going to get the same treatment soon.

People's Daily on testing, quarantine, control

The easiest solution would be to vaccinate as many people as possible with mRNA vaccines instead of those using the dead virus; China has acquired them but refuses to use them in the hopes of developing its own version. 

But there is no time to waste -- China should be injecting these vaccines in the arms of the elderly in particular and anyone else who is immunocompromised as soon as possible.

It's a pity politics is taking precedence over science. And it has made people terrified of the virus.

On May 6 the People's Daily published a statement from the Politburo Standing Committee chaired by Chinese leader Xi Jinping on Covid strategy. The 1,900-word statement only had 10 words on the vaccination effort (circled in the red frame), while the rest talked about focusing on testing, quarantine and movement control. 

Not only does the zero-Covid approach hurt China, but also Hong Kong and Macau too, both waiting desperately for over two years for the border to the mainland to be lifted.

However, this is not Xi's priority -- he is determined to prove to the world that the zero-Covid strategy works and at any cost. But the rest of the world has ignored him and moved on, with some countries with clear protocols in place if someone vaccinated tests positive. 

They are not locked down indefinitely or worse -- shipped off to a quarantine camp where there are reports they are completely unsanitary, there are not enough supplies and no definitive word on when they can leave.

Tedros last visited China during Winter Games

People in China are not praising the country's efforts in fighting Covid-19 anymore -- they are concerned about their rights being infringed upon and are demanding answers. 

And since Tedros' comments about China today, they have been censored from China's internet.

Perhaps he is not the friend China thought it had anymore...