By The SUN
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| Police going around with loudspeaker reminding the public about the rules |
Many
foreign domestic workers played cat-and-mouse with law enforcers on Sunday,
Feb. 21, as they tried to avoid being caught violating distancing restrictions,
including one that allows only up to two people to gather in public.
Police
officers, along with staff of various government departments, took to busy
spots across the city again to enforce the anti-pandemic rules which were eased
considerably starting Thursday.
Most
venues closed since mid-November have been allowed to reopen, and restaurants
can now sit up to four people to a table, and offer dine-in services until 10pm
from the previous 6pm.
However,
the rule that forbids more than two people to gather in public has been
extended for another week, or until Mar. 3.
Despite
the continuing effort to get the unusually heavy crowds of people in known
haunts of FDWs in Central and Causeway Bay to keep social distancing, the law
enforcers were noticeably more lax in their approach.
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| Hard to maintain social distancing on busy Chater Road |
The
officers patrolled the areas throughout the day and could be seen issuing
warnings, but did not appear to have issued anyone with a fixed penalty ticket costing
$5,000 apiece.
Instead, they largely went around with a loudhailer
reminding everyone about the social distancing regulations, and would just pause
every now and then to issue verbal warnings to various groups that squatted or
stood close to each other.
Many FDW groups kept lookouts so that as soon as a
police entourage made its way towards them, they would split into groups of
two, and keep or face away from each other. Once the coast was clear they would
resume their group activities that included eating, chatting and dancing
together.
As the weather had turned hot, not a few could be seen
taking off their masks, or taking refuge beyond the allowed number inside tents
scattered by the roadside.
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| Indonesian workers at Victoria Park gather close to each other |
Over at Victoria Park in Causeway Bay, a police van
could be seen parked near where groups of Indonesian domestic workers were
gathered, but officers were few and far apart, and seemed oblivious to the
violations being committed.
Elsewhere in the city, people were out in droves,
taking advantage of the warm weather and the more relaxed enforcement of the
law. With the mass inoculation against Covid-19 about to start, everyone, it
seemed, was hopeful the dark days of the pandemic are about to end.
