Given how there have been first signs of changing policies in many months - namely that covid positive patients can now home quarantine for 14 days after testing due to shortages in space for Penny's Bay, it's interesting to see how the government will (or will not) change policy in the coming months.
It's evidently unsustainable to send every single possible close contact to an isolation facility for 21 days especially with Omicron R0 reproduction rate of 6-8, as a mere 4 generations of spread will lead to thousands of infections and possibly tens of thousands of close contacts. As more mutations are likely to surface in the coming months, covid is increasingly likely to turn into an endemic where it would be highly unpractical (if not outright impossible) to keep this virus out of 7+ million people. A flare up of 10 cases can no longer ground a city to a halt - closure of bars, ban in evening restaurant dining, gyms and recreational facilities closed etc.
Small businesses can weather temporary disruptions (i.e. 2-4 weeks emergencies), but it is a huge ask to ask small businesses to stay afloat as we are approaching the 24th month of covid in Hong Kong. This idealistic pursuit of covid-zero to appease the powers up North is unsustainable, even they are having issues containing it themselves. Does Hong Kong idealize to become Xian style of governance in handling covid?
The recent Bloomberg article summarizes it best:
Hong Kong Faces Worst of Both Worlds as Omicron Ruins Covid Zero - Bloomberg
How should the government change their policies in the new reality? Omicron also has a shorter incubation period (3-4 days on average). Maybe 10 day quarantine for external travelers with PcR tests every other day? Contained spread with strict parameters in case numbers acceptable in place of zero covid policy?
While it is a viewpoint that would be hard to fathom a few months ago, it is time to start thinking about treating covid as an endemic and move on with life, than to be stuck in a limbo of permanent paralysis in 2022 or even 2023. Hong Kong was built on a laissez faire economy and relatively hands off government policy, so maybe they should start adopting that with their pandemic policies too. As of now, covid will not go away before a new variant comes about somewhere else in the world, so it's hopeless to put sandbags in front of your house when you know a tsunami will hit soon.