End HK's Covid cha-cha farce

Fans were shocked to see China's national women's volleyball team players wearing N95 masks in their match against Iran in the Asian Cup.

Not surprisingly, they were defeated in the first set.

In following sets, they took off their masks and went on to win the rest. In the end, they defeated Iran by three sets to one.

The mask episode not only caused a stir on Chinese social media but was also an example of the new difficulties Chinese teams can expect to face each time they go overseas to compete for medals.

Carefully protected from Covid in a bubble-like environment, Chinese national team athletes will have to learn to play with teams from countries where citizens have adapted to living with this new coronavirus.

It is symbolic - a choice between convergence and divergence.

Perhaps Hong Kong's Health Secretary Lo Chung-mau should learn from the episode.

With their masks on, the Chinese team lost. When they took them off, they won. If the SAR turns around to tighten its Covid restrictions, would it crash against the wall like the women's volleyball team and leave everyone here to suffer?

It was truly alarming to hear Lo announcing before the weekend that social distancing measures were being tightened, with stricter testing requirements for people attending banquets and staff working at regulated premises.

It was also unsettling to hear Education Secretary Christine Choi Yuk-lin warning that full-day in-person learning for secondary students may have to stop.

The government must stop chasing its tail as it faces periodic surges in cases.

Defending the ludicrous U-turn when confronted by the media over why he was tightening Covid rules at a time other places have been relaxing theirs, Lo said Hong Kong was different from other countries.

It is true Hong Kong is different - so different that it is pursuing a Covid policy as if it were still in the early stage of the pandemic. It's as if few of us had been vaccinated even though society has achieved a very high vaccination rate.

And it's as if the large number of people infected and showing mild symptoms had never been exposed to the virus.

So much has changed since the first outbreaks in Wuhan.

First, the world is now equipped with a variety of vaccines. Second, the virus has mutated from severe strains into milder variants. Also, the medical world has accumulated experience in treating the disease.

It is farcical for government officials to still cling to the early mind set.

No wonder lawmaker Doreen Kong Yuk-foon called the situation "a farce repeating itself."

Instead of heading back, it is imperative that Lo produces a road map that allows Hong Kong to emerge from the suicidal cycle.

Whereas it is fair for Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po to blame various factors for the loss of economic momentum, the dire situation the city faces is largely self-made with its Covid policy cha-cha.

China's Volleyball Association later apologized for asking players to compete wearing masks. The public expects from Lo not an apology but a forward-looking road map.