Warning amid rush to enjoy outdoors

Crowds rushing to parks, beaches and the countryside during the four-day Easter break despite social distancing calls could spark a community spread of Covid-19 a week or two later, a microbiologist warns.

Chuang Shuk-kwan, head of the communicable disease branch of the Centre for Health Protection, said yesterday that the center will consider suspending the "10+4" policy - 10 days in a quarantine center and four days in home isolation - as she observed a decreasing demand for quarantine centers, given the fewer newly confirmed cases.

While the number of local infections dropped to single digits over the past few days, one reason is that fewer samples were tested during the long holiday, said University of Hong Kong microbiologist Ho Pak-leung.

"The general out-patient clinics and accident and emergency departments usually test about 1,000 cases daily, but they only did 400 tests on average over the holiday," said Ho.

He said it would take at least a week to conclude whether local spread had occurred during the break.

Ho said the situation could only be deemed controllable if there are no newly confirmed cases of local infection for 28 consecutive days.

"We only observed one day of zero infected cases [on March 15], while local infections have not ceased since then," he said.

Ho noted the rapid surge of 233 newly confirmed cases in Singapore yesterday - all locally infected - despite the high temperature of about 30 degrees Celsius, like summer in Hong Kong.

He said the situation in Singapore implies the pandemic can change within a short time, warning: "We should no longer imagine that the virus will die in the summer."

Ho blamed the government for its passive attitude in securing the number of quarantine facilities, as it decided to allow those in isolation centers to stay for 10 days only and spend the next four days at home, starting last Saturday.

He said the measure is not the only feasible one and described it as a downgraded arrangement.

"The mainland and Macau authorities are using hotels as quarantine centers as many rooms are not occupied. The SAR government is not proactively exploring this option," he said.

All people should be sent to quarantine centers for 14 days if the government manages to get more isolation units, Ho added.

He urged people to maintain social distancing as more than 30 percent of young "invisible patients" without symptoms were among the 600 imported cases in Hong Kong so far.

His reminder came after crowds were seen in many outdoor spots over the holiday.

Dozens of people paid a tour to Sai Wan pier to watch the sunset, according to a Facebook group, with some not even wearing masks.

The holiday drove many to outlying islands and the mountains for fresh air. They also left trash in the countryside.

A netizen posted online photos of rubbish - including plastic utensils and leftover food - when he was voluntarily cleaning the beaches on Grass Island, known for barbecues and camping.

justin.tong@singtaonewscorp.com