It seems Singapore is always one step ahead of Hong Kong nowadays. It lifted all Covid restrictions in February of last year. Hong Kong did not lift Covid restrictions until December of last year and only lifted the mask mandate in March. Most of the world had already fully re-opened a year earlier. Singapore announced several weeks ago the new Pfizer vaccine that protects against the Covid XBB.1.5 variant will be available later this month. It announced last week the new Moderna vaccine against XBB.1.5 will be available next month.

Health experts who advise the government on Covid recommended last week that Hong Kong should buy the Pfizer XBB vaccine. But the government is still sitting on its ass about when it will be available. To be one step ahead of someone or something means to do things first or to be more skillful in doing things. To sit on your ass is a rude expression that means you should be doing something instead of doing nothing. When Singapore reopened to the world, the Hong Kong government still sat on its ass for months while talented people relocated to Singapore, Dubai, and other places.

Chuang Shuk-kwan, head of Hong Kong’s Centre for Health Protection (CHP), said last week the XBB variant caused more than 98 percent of recent local Covid cases. The CHP said it will procure (obtain) the Pfizer XBB vaccine but did not say when it will become available. Why can Singapore be one step ahead by giving dates, but Hong Kong cannot? It should not sit on its ass when XBB is causing most local Covid cases.

今天看來，新加坡總是領先香港一步（one step ahead of Hong Kong）。它在上年二月已經放寬所有新冠病毒的防疫管制措施。香港在上年十二月前還未放寬新冠防疫管制，直至三月才全面解除口罩令。世界大部分地方都已在一年前全面開關。新加坡在幾個星期前，亦已宣佈輝瑞防範新冠病毒XBB.1.5變種的新疫苗，將於今月尾面市。上星期，它又宣布莫德納針對XBB.1.5變種的新疫苗將於下月面市。

就新冠肺炎向政府提供意見的衞生專家，上星期建議香港應該採購輝瑞XBB疫苗。然而，政府仍然甚麼也不做（sitting on its ass），只等着看它何時有售。To be one step ahead of someone or something是指比某人或某物領先做事，又或做得更熟練、更有技術。 To sit on your ass是個較粗魯的習語，意即你應該做些事，而非坐視不理。當新加坡重新向世界開關時，香港政府那幾個月卻光是坐着，一動也不動（sat on its ass），任由有才能的人遷移到新加坡、杜拜和其他地方。

衞生防護中心傳染病處主任張竹君上星期就說，最近本地感染新冠病毒的案例，有超過百分之九十八是來自 XBB變種。衞生防護中心指，它會設法弄到（procure）輝瑞XBB疫苗，卻沒說何時有供應。為甚麼新加坡可以領先一步（one step ahead），提供確切日期，香港卻不能？當大部分本地感染個案皆由XBB 引起時，它不應再坐視不理（sit on its ass）了。

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Michael Chugani褚簡寧
中譯：七刻