Two Coronavirus Cases in Two Days

Several local media covered our office shutting down because of the virus

Fears of the coronavirus have become all too close for me in the last two days.

Late Tuesday night my colleagues and I were notified that someone in our office tested positive for the coronavirus. This person does not sit in the same area as me, but someone in my department had lunch with this person. Needless to say my colleague was terrified -- she was shaking when she found out.

Other reporters waiting to get soundbites from colleagues

We were told the office would be shut down until at least the weekend for deep cleaning and disinfection, though before then, for a short period in the morning we could go in to grab anything we needed from the office.

The news of our company's situation leaked to Chinese, then English media, so by 8am the next morning (yesterday) there were several reporters with cameras at the entrance, pouncing on colleagues who tried to rush in to get their personal effects. I went in to rescue some food and pick up my laptop.

The colleague who was terrified went into an out-patient clinic for testing. At first they recorded a mild fever, but when her temperature was taken again it was normal. She was kept overnight in a hospital.

She later found out another colleague who was at the same lunch would be quarantined in one of the government camps and asked me to pick up stuff from her roommate to give to her in the hospital as she worried there wouldn't be an opportunity to get anything.

The gym is a pretty easy place to pass germs around

I did my good deed of the day, picking up her bag of things in a garbage bag, then ferrying it to the hospital. Thankfully my colleague had taken a picture of her wristband for information of where she was. When I got to the hospital a security woman asked me where I was going and informed the nurse of that ward.

Then I had a temperature check by a nurse nearby and given a green slip of paper noting that my temperature had been checked.

When I got to the ward, I pressed the reception button. I tried to guess how to pronounce my colleague's Chinese name and the nurse berated me for saying it wrong. I said, "I'm sorry but my Chinese is terrible," but she was hardly sympathetic.

Soon the nurse came out, told me my colleague would be leaving the hospital soon, so don't give her anything anymore. It was her way of throwing her weight around, but I didn't care; my mission was completed.

Many complained about the gym's initial response to the news

Thankfully my colleague was less stressed having some of her things with her, and I hope she will be OK in quarantine. Hong Kong government health officials are taking every possible case seriously -- my colleague will be quarantined for two weeks in a government camp and an additional two weeks at home, as she may develop symptoms later.

While this was happening at work, my gym sent an urgent email at 1.45am in the morning, stating there was a member who tested positive for the coronavirus, and that he used the gym in three different locations in the span of six days, including my gym. Thankfully I was not there that day, but still, as infectious disease experts have said, the virus can live on surfaces for a long time.

However, the gym claimed that the three infected gyms already had a deep cleaning overnight so it was ready to use the next day.

A lot of gym members, including me didn't think so. In fact I had sent the gym an email 10 days ago, pointing out it was unwise to be encouraging members to use different locations, and to even have a promotion where members can bring their friends for a one-month pass. I pointed out even though you may be taking people's temperatures at the door, and cleaning a bit more (untrue), gym users can be asymptomatic and pass on the virus.

Now members can opt for membership suspension for 14 days

The gym ignored my concerns and now there is not just one infected gym, but three. Oh and there was another person who was tested positive and went to one of the three gyms.

As soon as members read the notice, many of them wrote angry emails demanding their membership be suspended for two weeks without additional cost (it's usually HK$288 per month to suspend). The story was picked up by the media, and by the end of the day, the gym at first closed the three affected gyms at dinnertime this evening, and then sent another email that the gyms would be further disinfected and closed for two weeks so that staff could undergo self-quarantine.

Oh, and yes people's memberships will be suspended without charge. Finally!

Why should it take bad publicity and a barrage of complaints from members for the gym to change its decision on how to deal with a life-threatening virus?

We understand the need to survive financially, but honestly, we are all in the same boat. Being greedy and unsympathetic is not good business ethics in the long term.

In the meantime this evening I ran along the waterfront and it was a good feeling to be out there. Too bad the forecast is for isolated thunderstorms tomorrow...