Isolation ends on note of wariness

People with Covid were freed from isolation orders yesterday, but fear of the virus continues to be felt.

That includes many restaurants refusing to serve people known to have Covid.

A random survey in Sham Shui Po yesterday showed nine out of 10 restaurant operators would not offer dine-in services to a Covid sufferer, and the only one where an infected customer would be allowed in said the person would have to sit at a corner table and not share it with others.

A manager at a restaurant who would turn away people said: "Nobody knows if you are infected unless you tell us. But it's best if you don't dine and get a takeaway."

A waiter at a nearby eatery said: "I'm afraid our colleagues will be infected. We have only three people serving customers."

The one restaurant that would welcome an infected diner said waiters have not received instructions to reject people who have Covid. "But would you mind sitting in the corner?" was the line being drawn.

With the compulsory five-day isolation for Covid patients lifted, people who test positive can leave home and go to work without having to declare their infections to authorities.

But some people are worried they will catch it on streets or in confined places.

A housewife from Kowloon City, Tam, said she enjoys her afternoon tea at a cha chaan teng every day but has never been infected. Now she will be even more careful when dining out.

"I will keep my mask on whenever I'm not eating or drinking," she said. "If anyone near me coughs or sneezes I'll put my mask on immediately." And she would not share a table with strangers.

But her husband, who recovered from Covid in March, will act as if the virus never happened. "It's a mild respiratory infection," he said. "You can't dodge it forever."

Yesterday also marked the final chapter for eight quarantine facilities, including the largest, a never-used 10,056-bed temporary hospital in the Lok Ma Chau Loop.

But only dozens of 500 Covid sufferers at Penny's Bay left after authorities scrapped mandatory isolation at midnight.

Most inmates apparently wanted to stay at Penny's Bay at first instead of observing home quarantine to avoid spreading the virus to family members.

Most of those leaving the camp were going home after completing a five-day isolation or testing negative for two days.

Also from yesterday, the Centre for Health Protection closed its platform for people to report positive rapid test results.

A Security Bureau spokesman said as of 5pm yesterday, 230 people have left the isolation facilities, while 310 are still staying.

And it limited latest infection numbers to the government's thematic Covid website, which showed the SAR had five deaths and 358 positive PCR results yesterday.

All Covid clinics were also closed. Infected people can go to 71 Hospital Authority general outpatient clinics, which have 2,000 slots daily.

Authority chief manager Tony Ha King-hang said over 1,400 people consulted clinics yesterday.

People can also consult a private practitioner and get free oral Covid drugs while paying consultation fees.

But private doctor Edmund Lam Wing-wo said some clinics may turn away Covid cases, explaining: "These doctors may do so because they are seniors or they have elderly relatives at home."

The Social Welfare Department will close applications for a HK$5,000 one-off infection cash allowance from February 14. It had handed out the allowance to 2,728 people by Friday.

And National People's Congress standing committee member Tam Yiu-chung expects Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu to announce the removal of a 48-hour pre-departure PCR test mandate for travelers between here and the mainland today.

The daily quota for high speed rail travelers departing and arriving at West Kowloon Station will also increase to 30,000 from 20,000. That means 15,000 slots for Hong Kong-bound people and 15,000 for mainland-bound passengers.