Editorial
The haphazard way some governments such as those of the US and UK have been tackling COVID-19 reminds me of flying trapeze acts without safety harnesses or at least a safety net by circus performers in the not-so-distant past. Nowadays, trapeze acts generally require safety inspections by the authorities before the performers are allowed to take off from a slim board on the fly bar. As a kid I was fascinated by the daredevil circus performances a few times a year in my hometown.
The crux of the problem is that the global battle against the novel coronavirus is still being fought without safety nets (=vaccines) and/or safety harnesses (=medicines). That’s why it’s so important to be extremely cautious when even just considering the easing of COVID-19 prevention and control measures.
Thanks to Chief Executive Ho Iat Seng’s heedful approach towards tackling the COVID-19 menace since it started to affect Macau in January our beloved city is now one of the safest places on Earth as far as the pandemic is concerned. Local residents have, generally speaking, done their bit by wearing facemasks almost religiously (at least until just a few weeks ago) and washing their hands often.
The local government’s decision in March to ban foreign nationals who don’t have the right of abode here from entering Macau has certainly also played a crucial role in keeping the nasty virus at bay – and the central government’s move early this year to temporarily restrict mainlanders’ visits to Macau has surely also been a decisive factor in keeping the number of COVID-19 cases as low as it has turned out to be – 46 (44 of them imported). Incidentally, the mainland and Taiwan have also shown their mettle in vanquishing the virus, while Hong Kong has emerged as the nation’s anti-virus laggard. Some Hong Kong people’s outright rejection of mainland experts’ assistance in fighting the virus can only be described as fatuous. Rejectionism is a political virus that is burdensome to neutralise.
While the anti-COVID-19 disaster in the US isn’t really surprising, considering its Third World-level public health system and unabashed enmity between the federal administration and some state governments, the UK’s terrifying predicament has been one of the most astonishing phenomena in the world’s anti-virus struggle, considering that the island nation hitherto was widely reputed to have one of the world’s best public health systems, the NHS. Something, certainly, went fatally awry under the tumultuous premiership of Boris Johnson who himself was almost done away with by the disease. Surprisingly, Italy – a country not exactly known for administrative prowess – quickly learnt the hard lesson from COVID-19.
An American media colleague told me a few weeks ago that as far as protection from the COVID-19 threat was concerned, “Macau is the place to be.” He’s right. And let’s make sure that it will remain so until an anti-COVID-19 safety net and/or safety harness have been found. Hence, our government should be unhurried in relaxing its COVID-19 prevention and control measures – and all this should be done in close cooperation and liaison with the central government, irrespective of Macau’s status as one of the country’s two special administrative region. Autonomy that is not safe is futile.
It’s entirely understandable that our casino, hotel, restaurant and retail operators as well as tour guides, cabbies and many other sectors and professions are all hoping for a relative steep increase in visitor arrivals from the mainland during the upcoming National Day/Mid-Autumn Festival Golden Week. If I were one of them I would share their desire – and any pragmatically inclined resident understands that the gaming industry will remain our economic linchpin for years to come, notwithstanding that the government’s economic diversification drive is not only appropriate but also imperative to gradually wean our city off its overdependence on the takings from games of chance.
So let’s take one step at a time to protect both ourselves and our vitally important tourists from infection by the nasty virus. Gradualism is the right way forward to adjust the various virus-related curbs that so far have kept all of us astonishingly safe but also hamstrung our economy. No doubt, the government’s decision-making process involved in keeping us all safe AND cranking up the economy at the same time is not an enviable position to be in. Protecting the common good is what always ought to be given top priority in the ongoing fight against COVID-19, while sector-specific interests should invariably come second.
Let’s keep our fingers crossed and hope for the best… and, last but not least, happy National Day and Mid-Autumn Festival!
– Harald Brüning
