In the mean time we intend to hold out, resist, and forego privilege of cinema, restaurants, etc, until the whole thing blows over, or when they restrict school attendance and lock the unvaxx-ed in away-homes (at that stage, should it come to that, we shall opt for the traditional vaccine)
good thing is that we are creatures of habit, and so we know the folks running most of the restaurants we visit, and am sure each and every outfit shall pack meals for us.
yes, we have subscription to quite a few streaming services and cinema seems superfluous.
here be the kids watching 'bat man' a few nights ago in the backyard as part of 'winter' break (it does get cold here for a few days (~2?) requiring the heater to be on.
no restaurants is a slight inconvenience as many of the events we attend feature a house rented expressly for parties, and food catered by different chefs on private basis. Nice hanging out w/ the mainland crowd in HK for they know how to party and party well.
so far the kids are not affected much as the coconut is still 17 and will be until October, and jack is 11 until late August
Today the Jack went with his friends to check out some volcanic rocks (I did not know HK had any), and I had lunch w/ my very busy daughter for the first time in some time since our return from Cape Town. In hindsight our Cape Town accidental lockdown was god-sent and I thought so at the time. Also did not know HK has such enormous fish (koi, freshwater, ~4 feet)
So far would say all of the severe cases we heard about and know are of mRNA vaxx-ed people. Very strange.
I am of course concerned about the effects of the disease and of the vaccine on the elderly and the young. I am simply not sure of anything, and so, when in doubt, stop fidgeting.
imagine when 'they' the authorities force all to vaccinate and still cannot open the border. Would imagine the blowback can be quite a scene.
bloomberg.com
Hong Kong to Widen Vaccine Bubble to Restaurants Next Month
New rules punted to after Lunar New Year for preparations Comes as city records first local cluster of omicron
Felix Tam
January 3, 2022, 10:53 PM EST
A poster advertising the vaccination program outside a community vaccination center administering the BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine in Hong Kong on Jan. 4.
Photographer: Chan Long Hei/BloombergHong Kong will start banning most unvaccinated people from entering restaurants and other leisure facilities next month, as the city’s first local omicron variant cluster drives a campaign to boost its lagging vaccination rate.
Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam said at a regular press briefing Tuesday the new rules would begin Feb. 24. They would apply to venues such as libraries and museums, as well as staff and teachers at schools. There are no plans to extend the vaccine mandate — which requires at least one vaccine dose against Covid-19 — to private workplaces or shopping malls, she added.
The government pushed back the start date of the rules to after the city’s biggest holiday, Lunar New Year, when families will gather in restaurants across the city for several days. Lam said that the hold-up was necessary to allow businesses to prepare, and to give the city time to roll out vaccines to the some 1 million people still without a first dose.
Members of the public wait in line outside a community vaccination center administering the BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine in Hong Kong on Jan. 4.
Photographer: Chan Long Hei/Bloomberg
“We can’t possibly ask them to make all the required preparations within a very short time because they have to make big changes with their facilities,” she said of the catering sector.
Hong Kong’s first omicron cluster has raised anxiety about a so-called fifth wave in recent days, and sparked a much-needed jump in vaccinations. Lam said about 18,000 people received a first dose on Monday, and more than 15,000 took their booster. Still, more than 1 million residents have to receive a Covid-19 vaccination.
The government’s success in stamping out local transmission through some of the world’s strictest quarantine rules has given rise to a lack of urgency to get vaccinated.
Lam’s dedication to the Covid Zero strategy — also adopted by Beijing — was intended to facilitate quarantine-free cross border travel with mainland China. Lam said Tuesday the latest omicron cluster had pushed back the timing on that goal.
“We will have to wait another while before we could put in place the very sought-after resumption of normal travel between Hong Kong and the mainland,” she said.
— With assistance by Jon Herskovitz
(Updates with comments from Lam from third paragraph) |
