Hongkongers feel assured by Taiwan’s COVID controls
Taiwan’s health control measures and its people’s discipline will keep Hongkongers on the island calm, despite some scenes of panic buying sparked by the island’s latest outbreaks of COVID-19.
On Saturday, many supermarkets in Taiwan saw long lines of people looking to stock up on water, toilet paper, canned food and other commodities after 180 new COVID-19 cases were reported, prompting authorities to raise the coronavirus alert level.
A more intense mood could be felt among Taiwan residents amid the latest outbreak, but they mostly remained calm, a group of Hongkongers living there said. Taiwan had largely stamped out local transmissions of the coronavirus for the past year.
Vegetables were sold out and some shelves were almost emptied in a Taipei supermarket on Saturday afternoon, Choco, a Hong Kong mother who lives in Taipei’s Xinyi district, told Apple Daily. But she said she was not panicking.
“I am confident in the government’s health measures. Also residents work hard to protect this place. I am not worrying too much,” Choco said.
“If there is no supply of fresh food items, then I can get instant noodles. I believe that Taiwan has a plentiful supply and there is no need to panic buy,” she said.
Another Hongkonger, Dennis, who lives in Taipei’s Da’an district, echoed her views, saying he was confident that Taiwanese health authorities’ measures, together with the residents’ self-discipline, would help bring the outbreak under control soon.
Taipei streets had become quieter and residents remained calm, although pharmacy shops saw more consumers buying surgical masks, said another Hong Kong man who lives in the capital’s Shilin district.
Bennis So, a professor in public administration at National Chengchi University and a Hongkonger, likened the attentiveness of Taiwan’s health control measures to the care parents gave to their children. People usually felt comfortable with this “safety net,” but might start to panic if certain points of it broke, he said.
So observed that most Taiwan people were highly vigilant against COVID, and took strict precautions such as wearing masks in public places and using sterilizers.
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