Fear Marks the Year of the Rat

Practically everyone using public transport wears a mask for prevention

It's the second day of the Year of the Rat and everyone in Hong Kong is obsessed about the Wuhan coronavirus. No one seems to care or notice that there are no fireworks or the Chinese New Year Parade was nixed, but are constantly checking their phones for updates on any new cases.

Restaurants should have been doing a brisk business today with family gatherings, but some cancelled in case they felt unwell, or were worried about being in public areas. I had made a late lunch reservation for dim sum for 1pm weeks ago and the restaurant warned me that we may have to wait, but instead we were seated to our table -- earlier than the appointed time.

Screenings have stepped up, but is it enough?

Practically everyone is wearing masks on the streets, over 90 percent on the MTR and buses. The reminder to step up hygiene is a good one, though I feel for the cleaning staff who need to put in the extra effort to make sure things are clean more frequently.

As of 11.15pm, Hong Kong has eight cases, all of them related to Wuhan. Local medical experts are pushing the government to limit the city's exposure to people from Wuhan and China, but the authorities say closing off borders completely is impossible.

"If we still only focus on cutting ties with Wuhan, our prevention work is doomed to fail. The largest threats to Hong Kong are from [neighbouring] Guangdong province and Shenzhen," said Dr Arisina Ma Chung-yee, president of the Hong Kong Public Doctors' Association on a radio program forum.

She called on the government to launch crowd control measures, like reducing the frequency of trains and buses across the border and forcing travelers from Wuhan to undergo mandatory monitoring for 14 days. And a few minutes ago, Hong Kong has just announced it is barring anyone coming from Hubei province in the past 14 days to enter the city except for Hong Kong residents.

Protesters set up roadblocks in Fanling this evening

Earlier, Secretary for Food and Health Sophia Chan Siu-chee said closing the border was completely impractical.

"[The government] would definitely consider stepping up border control measures, but [we would also have to look into] which option would be the best at a certain time," Chan said during a television program.

Err... how about now? To keep things under control reducing as much contact from the mainland is the easiest way to contain the number of cases in Hong Kong.

People are terrified of a repeat of SARS in 2003.

Speaking of which, residents in Fanling violently protested when they found out a public housing estate in the area that is nearly completed could potentially will be used to quarantine patients. Clad in black, the protesters smashed what looked like tiles and glass on the roads and set fire to the entrance to the housing estate. They also damaged traffic lights.

The lobby of a newly built housing estate in Fanling set on fire

Police descended on the area and detained some protesters and journalists. The fear and mistrust in the government is real and intense, built up in particular over the last eight months.

Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor and her administration probably weren't anticipating this reaction at all, as she and her cohorts are living in a parallel universe. How are they going to overcome people's fear and mistrust? Oh wait it's too late -- she lost her chance at good will ages ago and these last few days.

And Beijing still has faith in her?