Cold snap a reminder for Hong Kong to be better prepared
- With Hong Kong facing a sudden drop in temperatures, not only is it a time to keep warm but also to have those flu and Covid-19 jabs
A generally balmy winter can create a false sense of security and even anticipation of spring. It leaves us unprepared for a sudden cold snap – a reminder that winter has not entirely released its grip.
A case in point is a cold-weather warning issued by the Hong Kong Observatory before dawn yesterday, shattering the seasonal illusion.
In the Observatory’s terms, “an intense winter monsoon is bringing appreciably cooler weather to the coastal areas of Guangdong”.
Translated into its forecast for Hong Kong, today will be “very cold” – as low as seven degrees Celsius in urban areas and even two degrees lower in the New Territories.
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The mercury is not expected to begin rising again until Thursday. By then vulnerable people, such as the elderly in particular and very young, and those with compromised immunity or underlying illnesses will have been exposed to greater risk of complications.
It is not too late to be mindful of the sudden danger, to be prepared with supplementary warmth and protection from chills, especially in care homes for the elderly.
No one wants to see the vulnerable become ill or even die through lack of preparation for an event that was likely, if not inevitable, sooner or later.
The same applies to the latest surges in winter flu and the coronavirus. The latter, or Covid-19, is no longer a pandemic but endemic – a disease we have to live with. But there is a new, more contagious variant and newly targeted vaccines.
Secretary for Health Lo Chung-mau has said Hong Kong’s higher vaccination rates against Covid-19 and flu can help stave off a hospital crisis similar to the fifth coronavirus wave two years ago.
Hongkongers warned against chasing frost on coldest day of winter so far
But experts from the University of Hong Kong have warned that Covid-19 cases may rise sharply in the next two months, urging high-risk patients to get vaccinated with the latest generation of jabs before Lunar New Year.
Infectious diseases expert, Professor Ivan Hung Fan-ngai, said the threat of severe infections remained for those at greater risk.
He urged them to get the latest vaccine targeting the XBB variant, which the government has made free for over-50s and other vulnerable groups.
It is up to them or their carers to take advantage of the opportunity to be prepared, and not trust in luck.
