Indoor venues have been allowed to reopen, so why are Hong Kong’s beaches still closed?
- It seems to make little sense that bars, restaurants and karaoke clubs are operating again, but the sea is still off limits
- Could it be because our government officials don’t get to the beach that much, so the issue isn’t high on their priorities?
The best beach on Hong Kong Island is 20 seconds’ walk from my house in Shek O village. And over the past 10 weeks, as Hong Kong sweltered during its hottest summer on record, the ocean has been calling out to us. So what’s been stopping us going for a swim? Our government is threatening prosecution for even entering the water.
All of Hong Kong’s gazetted beaches were closed on July 15 as part of the government’s efforts to contain the city’s third wave of coronavirus cases. This was the same day restrictions were reapplied to bars, restaurants, karaoke lounges and so on.
But while those other venues – even swimming pools – have been gradually allowed to reopen, our stretches of sand and sea remain off-limits. In Shek O, the beach is blocked off by barricades similar to those installed around police stations and government buildings during the 2019 protests.
So far no one has been able to adequately explain why it’s been fine for thousands of people to cram into public transport and shopping malls, but a day at the seaside is deemed too risky. Not a single coronavirus infection has been connected to any of Hong Kong’s beaches.
I support limits on social gatherings, the evidence shows they work. But it’s ridiculous – and infuriating for those who rely on the sea for their daily exercise – to allow four people to eat together in a restaurant or drink in a bar but not visit a beach.
Surely there could have been some compromise. Even if we accept that beach gatherings are for some reason too dangerous, why is the ocean off-limits even to solo swimmers? The model used in parts of Australia offers a solution: you can’t hang around on the beach, but you can still take a dip.
And not everyone’s got the memo. Every Sunday domestic workers arrive in groups of four – in line with the guidelines – on their day off only to find the beach blocked. So they set up camp in the shade of the barricades and do their thing anyway. It’s hard to see the harm in allowing them to sit six feet away on the sand.
So why is it that the reopening of the beaches appears to be last on the list? Could it be because our pasty government officials don’t get to the beach that much, so the issue isn’t high on their priorities? Or perhaps it’s because our beaches are free and opening them doesn’t make any money for the vested interests that the government always prioritises over the people.
