The SAR government has been doing its best since last week to get extra quarantine facilities ready for the imminent arrival of more than 300 Hong Kong residents currently trapped on board a cruise ship docked in Japan. The Japanese authorities have refused to let the passengers come ashore for fear they might spread the novel coronavirus virus, which has infected hundreds of passengers on the cruise ship. The SAR government has arranged two chartered flights and is waiting for relevant authorities in Japan to clear all the Hong Kong residents to fly home, but there are political groups with ulterior motives creating obstacles for the setting up of temporary quarantine facilities to keep those from Japan in isolation for at least 14 days according to standard quarantine procedure.
The opponents of temporary quarantine facilities claim they represent local residents nearby, even though many Hong Kong residents have expressed understanding of the need to quarantine the evacuated passengers together instead of separately in their own homes. There is strong evidence the rowdy protesters against government plans to set up designated clinics and use vacant public residential buildings as temporary quarantine facilities on Saturday and Sunday are “brothers in arms” with those who mounted arson attacks on some designated clinics last week. By using terrorist tactics against medical establishments designated for saving lives, the perpetrators are clearly not above killing innocent people to push their own agenda, including separatist fantasy.
Hong Kong does not have an unpopulated area or the time to build a new quarantine center for those evacuated from Japan. Neither is there enough individual protection gear for their families and neighbors if they were to be quarantined at home. That is why the government has decided to use vacant public residential buildings for the purpose.
The argument predicated on “concerns over potential risks to the neighborhoods” does not hold water. Reputable experts have repeatedly explained well that the setup of quarantine centers or designated clinics in the proposed sites does not pose additional health risks to residents in the neighborhood. The health authority has ensured that the selected sites are at a safe distance from the nearest residential estate or building, and pledged to implement the strictest measures to protect nearby residents.
Members of the opposition camp may or may not be willing to put their own lives in danger by blocking the government’s plans to set up temporary quarantine facilities and clinics, but they will be under increased threat of a COVID-19 outbreak in this city if their criminal design is realized. Then the whole city could be declared a quarantine zone by the World Health Organization. Is that how they define “Liberate Hong Kong”? Did it even occur to them that Washington would withdraw all consulate staff and ordinary US citizens from Hong Kong as soon as the SAR government buckled under their pressure?
It would be naive for the political radicals to think they can benefit from defeating government efforts to set up the necessary quarantine facilities. They must brace themselves for the prospect of being regarded as a scourge worse than COVID-19.