Hong Kong's New Normal

Commuters in Hong Kong for the most part are wearing masks in public areas

The Hong Kong government announced today that civil servants would continue to work from home until February 23, and a lot of companies promptly followed suit.

A colleague has told me his eyes hurt from looking too much at the screen, not just for work, but also binge-watching Netflix. Overheard at dinner tonight a woman was supposed to be working from home, but in the afternoon she started watching a Netflix show. Talk about a drop in productivity.

Art Basel has been cancelled this year, changing to the pork

In the meantime events all over the city have been cancelled -- the Hong Kong Arts Festival, the Hong Kong International Film Festival, Art Basel, and the Hong Kong Ruby Sevens, not to mention a slew of concerts too.

Hotels are hurting terribly, with hardly any guests checking in. Many staff have to start using their annual leave (it's only February), and if they choose to travel, they are also limited in where they can go with many countries and cities imposing quarantine restrictions on people flying in from Hong Kong.

Nowadays to be able to eat in some restaurants you must first be subjected to a temperature check before being shown to your table, same with the cinema, and most people now just wave to each other instead of shake hands or hug. My office has now instituted temperature checks once you walk through the door; then you can get your daily quota of one mask.

A gorgeous hotel room in the Rosewood, but no one staying

A lot of people are still terrified of catching the virus even though in Hong Kong there are now 56 confirmed cases, over 65,000 worldwide, but the vast majority in Wuhan.

Hot pot restaurants are hurting terribly after a number of people related to a family were infected with the virus after gathering for hot pot during Chinese New Year. Restaurants in general are either doing a decent business or dead quiet. A lot of coffee shops are quiet, as their customers are stuck at home and resorting to instant coffee.

Shops and malls are in a sorry state, with everyone obsessed with buying masks, toilet paper and hand sanitizer -- these things are worth more than any name brand clothing. Priorities are now completely health related, which in a way is a good thing, but the paranoia makes people even more scared.

Hot pot businesses are ruined after a family got infected

Perhaps even worse is a lot of these retail staff are going to be laid off through no fault of their own... where are they going to go? There will be fewer jobs going when the coronavirus crisis finally passes in a few months.

Meanwhile there are discussions if you should attend yoga class, and if you do, do you wear a mask? Or how about going to the gym and running on the treadmill?

If anything most people are saving a lot of money from not going out, though they are going stir-crazy at home with not much to do or like my colleague, glued to Netflix. Perhaps even harder are families and trying to keep young children entertained all day, everyday, every week, and the parents trying to do some work.

How much longer can people and businesses sustain this new normal?