this creates optimism and a positive dynamic for the executive branch right now, and this government. indie executive branch right now, and this government. this government. we shall keep a close eye this government. we shall keep a close eye for this government. we shall keep a close eye for now. this government. we shall keep a close eye for now. thank - this government. we shall keep a close eye for now. thank you | a close eye for now. thank you for your time this morning. hong kong based airline cathay pacific airways is continuing to feel the effects of covid lockdowns. the international carrierjust released their latest set of results. the airline says it s bottom line is being hit as it spends more cash to deal with stricter quarantine measures. joining me now from singapore is our business reporter nick marsh. we not expecting good news from cathay pacific, and they delivered? cathay pacific, and they delivered? ., ., , cathay pacific, and they delivered? . ., , ., del
prided itself on its less disruptive approach to covid containment. there were never any citywide mass testing, and their quarantine measures were considered more lenient. so there was a lot of hope this would inspire other cities in china to do the same thing, eventually leading to the country being reopened to the outside world. but instead the opposite is now happening in shanghai, with this citywide lockdown all but in name happening to a lot of people. millions confined to their homes. the city s public transportation including the world s biggest metro network, a large portion of it being shut down, and then of course growing concerns with the city s health care system, especially with a lot of people trying to seek medical attention for non-covid illnesses being turned away. at least one case of somebody dying because of this. and also remember, shanghai has the country s oldest population among all the major cities. so this is a major concern among the elderly population, espec
the overwhelming majority of these cases have been asymptomatic. that means most of them would not require hospital care. that s why up till this point shanghai had really prided itself on its less disruptive approach to covid containment. the city had never undertaken citywide mass testings. and its quarantine measures were considered less restrictive. but it seems like, you know, despite hope that the shanghai model would be replicated for the rest of the country, the opposite is now happening with shanghai adopting harsh measures. we had previously only seen in other cities. and this new two-step approach, if you will, is basically a citywide lockdown in all but name and now we re seeing millions of residents being confined to their homes. large portions of the city s public transportation including the world s biggest metro system being shut down not to mention a lot of concerns and even agony about the city s increasingly strained health care system with a lot of people seeking me
optimism that with a really clear system in place that we might still get a soaring in bookings towards the end of the summer. if the government is clear and people feel relaxed they will be able to go away on holiday and not come back to different restrictions and different quarantine measures. this would be good news for the travel industry if the government can keep this really simple. that is the question, if it can or cannot keep things simple. with france, for example, and travel being restricted in terms of uk holiday makers in france coming back, the rules changing, etc, etc. despite the amber watchlist being taken away, many might still be very, very nervous about going overseas. that s right. that s why many will be looking to the government for really clear guidelines and clarification. even if they get that, i think there is still this level of distrust and uncertainty which could well put people off until next year. the travel industry will be looking for a pick up at the
2019, that s loss, flying atjust 20% of 2019, that s a really small capacity, and that s because of restrictions, quarantines, nerves over travel, so a more complex system as far as the travel and traffic light system is concerned would have hit these companies even harder, and it would have kept people from booking holidays. we do still have some of the summer left, there is still some optimism, that medically system in place we might still get some saw in bookings towards the end of the summer, if the government is clear and people feel relaxed that they will be able to go on holiday and not have to come back to different restrictions on different quarantine measures, so this would be good news for the travel industry, if the government can keep this really simple. government can keep this really simle. . , government can keep this really simle. ., , , ., simple. that is the question, if it cannot simple. that is the question, if it cannot cannot simple. that is the question, if