Panic Ensues in Hong Kong

The massive line of people in Kowloon Bay hoping to buy masks today

Is Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor really qualified to be Chief Executive?

Yesterday a company in Kowloon Bay announced on social media that it was selling 11,000 boxes of masks today and immediately people began lining up in front of the store in the afternoon, making the shop owner very distressed to see Hongkongers willing to wait in line overnight. Of course the line was massive.

Carrie Lam continues to stir confusion on wearing masks

Did Lam see this line with her own eyes? Did she try to procure more masks for the general public?

And then this afternoon I was out on an assignment in Olympian City when I saw a few elderly people carrying several packs of toilet paper. Was this a coincidence? Afterwards I went to the gym where one of the changing room attendants told me there was a run on toilet paper because a message circulated on social media saying China won't export anymore toilet paper, or that the suppliers are shut and won't replenish stock.

Then the changing room attendant asked her friend to go buy some toilet paper and everywhere she went in Central they were all cleaned out. I thought this was ridiculous and before I went home, I checked out three places -- the local pharmacy, a store that sells household cleaning supplies and the supermarket, and they were all sold out of toilet paper, and tissues.

Store shelves were cleaned out of... toilet paper today

Luckily I had just bought a pack of toilet paper a few days ago because I was running out, but this is insane.

Toilet paper manufacturers and supermarkets denied China will not export toilet paper, but everyone has lost trust in the government and so they are trying to fend for themselves... with rolls of toilet paper or tissues.

What's next after masks, rice and toilet paper?

The mis- and dis-information on social media has whipped everyone into a frenzy, freaking out about anything. When SARS happened 17 years ago, people were very worried, but not to the point where they went on panic buying sprees.

And now our fearless leader has realized that the coronavirus has infected local people who have not traveled in the last few weeks. Hong Kong now has 21 cases.

"It is worrying... the coming 14 days will be the key," Lam said today in a press conference.

How much toilet paper do you really need?

So she has announced people coming to Hong Kong from the mainland, regardless if they are local residents or not, must undergo 14 days of quarantine. However, she gave no specifics on where they would be quarantined and how it would be regulated. Even better, this latest measure doesn't start until midnight February 8.

Shouldn't have Lam enacted this measure ages ago? 

Oh and she actually apologized for giving people mixed messages about not wearing masks. Everyone from all political stripes criticized her for adding to the panic of finding masks, and ignoring the public's concerns.

Today she said she didn't mean to imply there was a complete ban on civil servants wearing masks, and that she only meant officials at public events could take the lead in reducing the use of masks when it's not necessary to wear them.

Some of Lam's ministers wore masks as they were "unwell"

Huh? We're supposed to wear them as soon as we step outside and are in public space, no?

At the press conference Lam again didn't wear a mask, where as some of the senior ministers sitting next to her did. When asked why, she replied:

"There are circumstances that the advice is to put on a surgical mask, including if that individual is unwell. I'm sorry to see that several of my colleagues are unwell, and of course that may be the case because they're in frequent interaction in a health setting," Lam explained.

Err, if they are not well, maybe they shouldn't be attending these press conferences to start with?

Lam and her administration continue to confuse and confound...