Was the Three-Day Test Successful?

Lam says social media was checked if people did RAT tests

For the past three days, some of the 7.3 million Hong Kong residents have tested themselves using the government's distributed rapid antigen tests to see if they have Covid-19.

But of course it's voluntary, so not everyone did the exercise, and Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor admitted so.

The government-issued rapid antigen test

"Anecdotal evidence suggest that many have [done the RAT test]. We have been asking around, we surfed the Facebook of different groups and social media, and so on," she said.

"But naturally in a city like Hong Kong, I am sure there will be people who do not respond to the government's appeal."

Well... if you say it's voluntary and no need to report test results if they are negative, then what is the point?

It makes no sense.

Here were the numbers of positive cases from RAT tests:

Today: 1,033

Yesterday: 1,638

Friday: 1,265

The start of the line to vote in Kennedy Town

Nevertheless, she said the three-day exercise had no bearing on the government preparing to relax social-distancing measures from April 21, which would include allowing dinner for up to four people per table until 10pm, opening up gyms and entertainment venues.

"By now it's quite clear that we are trending down... By and large, unless there's an exponential surge, otherwise we will continue to implement the relaxation. But the relaxation will be gradual, it will take three stages over three months in order to remove most of the social distancing measures we have put in. But apparently, it will have no particular relevance to the RAT exercise," Lam said.

It's great to see Hong Kong tax dollars being spent for public health...

Meanwhile today was the start of voting for the Philippine elections and today on our walk along Victoria Road in Kennedy Town we saw thousands of domestic helpers lined up waiting to cast their ballots.

The end stretched to U of Chicago HK campus

The voting booths are at the Banyanihan Kennedy Town Centre which is at 55 Victoria Road, and the line snaked all the way up to 168 Victoria Road, around a 15-minute walk! It was shocking to see so many people having to wait in line for possibly hours and police were helpless to try to enforce social-distancing measures.

But at least these Filipinas can cast their votes in this election that will take one month to complete...

Despite Fifth Wave, Grave Sweeping Continues

Many ignored government warnings and went grave sweeping

Today is Ching Ming Festival, or grave sweeping and also a gorgeous day. 

The government and health officials had warned people not to go today, but many who adhere to tradition continued the practice.

A friend and I walked from Wan Chai to Kennedy Town and up Victoria Road, where we saw packed buses and lots of people clutching flowers to pay their respects to loved ones. 

There were fewer people at cemeteries today

The police were on hand to control the crowds, helping them cross the street periodically. While there were less people in general, it was still a sizeable number in the hundreds.

Health officials are concerned there could be an uptick in the number of Covid-19 cases following not only Ching Ming, but also the upcoming Easter holiday too.

Today there was a slight rise in the total number of cases today at 3,238, though the number of deaths has decreased to 87, with 81 newly reported, and six backlogged.

The other victims of the fifth wave are restaurants. 

I just found out that American restaurant Red Lobster shut its doors in Causeway Bay. It had only opened three years ago. 

Red Lobster was another victim of Covid-19

The owner said Covid-19 and the dining restrictions made it untenable to keep going and in the end the company sustained too much loss to keep going.

He thinks that those with deep pockets and can survive will live to see a rebound in 2023.

For many that's a long way off when living day by day.

Other restaurants have been taken down too, like Duck and Waffle that I had no idea had disappeared until I walked through IFC Mall and the space was completely empty. Others include Mana! and La Rotisserie, Silencio, Poem, and Second Draft (but for rent reasons).

The other day I wandered to Shun Tak, where people used to go catch ferries to go to Macau. The departure floor is completely eerie, with the floor covered, and every single shop space that used to sell ferry tickets or arrange hotel rooms or junkets are all shut down. 

Shun Tak departure hall is completely empty

When the pandemic eases, reopening Hong Kong and telling the world the city is open for business will be the hardest task for the next chief executive. The Hong Kong Tourism Board also had formidable challenge in promoting the city that has changed so drastically after the 2019 protests and the implementation of the national security law two years ago.

But hey -- let's not worry about that now, and instead focus on getting those Covid-19 numbers down...

Consumption Vouchers Barely Make Dent in Sales

Consumption vouchers aren't benefiting small businesses

The HK$5,000 e-vouchers are supposed to inject a whopping HK$30 billion into Hong Kong's economy and aimed at benefiting small retailers, but some report only a small uptick in business.

In Kennedy Town, a small fashion boutique owner reported no difference in revenue, even though she signed up to use Octopus cards in her shop, as installation and transaction fees would be waived for the first six months. She plans to return the card terminal when the period waived is up.

People buy expensive items without voucher

"About 10 percent of my clients started using electronic payment methods, but revenue didn't actually increase," she said.

Another shop selling imported frozen food also in Kennedy Town saw a slight increase in sales when the e-vouchers first came out in August that later died down, and no increase in the second installment. 

"I didn't see them spend more than usual or buy more expensive things because of the consumption vouchers," Jimmy Tsoi said. "Younger people may save up [the installments] to buy something more expensive at once. It would feel better than using it to buy small items, or something for daily use."

But according to the Census and Statistics Department, overall sales jumped 11.9 percent in August compared to the same time last year. However August 2020 was before Hong Kong had vaccines and there were strict social-distancing measures in place at the time, thus sales were low then too, points out Annie Tse, chairperson of the Hong Kong Retail Management Association.

Sales in footwear saw a big increase year-on-year

Retailers selling footwear and clothing saw the biggest rebound compared to other types of businesses, recording a 62.3 percent year-on-year increase in August, while optical shops saw a 60.4 percent rise compared to the same period last year according to government statistics.

Nevertheless, restaurants in general are doing a healthy trade, though it doesn't have much to do with consumption vouchers, as it is the high-end restaurants that are busy these days with wealthy customers splashing out on fine dining meals that they would have spent on trips.

So while the Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po intended the e-vouchers to help small businesses, his elaborate and grand plan barely made a dent.

New Harbour Views from Fortress Hill

Another new spot to take fantastic panoramic shots of the city

 

Hong Kong Island's harbour front is slowly opening up more for pedestrians to enjoy the view and new public spaces. The latest one to just open is the East Coast Park Precinct in Fortress Hill.

I checked it out tonight the day after the official opening and luckily there weren't too many people. Some of the fixtures like reclining seats look similar to the ones by the Wan Chai promenade, while the area with benches look like the ones found in Kennedy Town.

Do we really need this redundant sign here?

You can walk right up to where a giant "swirl" is, an air purifier and take some great photos looking towards Causeway Bay, Wan Chai and Central. This place will probably become the next "Instagram Pier" even though it's hardly a pier.

It will also be a very good spot to catch the fireworks -- if Hong Kong ever has them again.

There are also mini slides for young children to play on and spaces for dogs to roam around too. 

One complaint is the gaudy "Victoria Harbour" sign that lights up the area. Really? Do we really need to put that there? It seems whoever approved the place was worried there was too much empty space.

But that's what public spaces are for, for people to decide what they want to do with it in the time that they are there. Maybe they can have a picnic or children can have more space to run around, play games, or draw chalk drawings.

The other thing the government and designers didn't think through properly was the name of the place. Type it into Facebook or Instagram and you get "East Coast Park, Singapore", a well known spot in the Lion City that is a park and beach, as well as recreation area in the southeastern coast of the city.

From the entrance of the park looking west

So it seems in Hong Kong, they added the word "Precinct" to make it different, but when it's not located on social media sites, East Coast Park Precinct won't get the buzz it needs to make people more aware of the place.

For those interested in finding it, from Fortress Hill MTR, walk along Oil Street and Electric Road, and then walk down Watson Road.

Picture of the Day: Lo Pan Temple

The Lo Pan Temple contrasts with highrises

 

Today from Kennedy Town I walked along Victoria Road and the Mount Davis Road. There are many nice flats in the area and I saw some girls in uniform walking down. Turns out they study at St Clare's Girls' School which was founded by missionary sisters from Quebec. That explains the students wearing red scarves with a maple leaf embroidered at the bottom.

Large Chinese-style grave sites at Pok Fu Lam

Down below I could see Mt Davis Road was parallel to Victoria Road and I could have kept going, but then decided to go along a highway overpass that took me to Pok Fu Lam Road. Below the overpass was a hillside with very large Chinese graves. 

Pok Fu Lam Road is very busy and pedestrians only have a few opportunities to cross the road via an underpass. The first one I went into was a maze with no signs for directions and I just chose a path to go on and ended up on the other side of the street! Later one I took another underpass to go back to the other side. 

Then there was a sign for Lo Pan Temple and I decided to check it out. I went down some stairs and saw the temple's roof, an archaic building in modern Hong Kong. Then I went down to see it and it is built for Lo Pan, the patron saint of Chinese builders and contractors.

The temple's curious jagged roof from the back

It was first built in 1884 for Lo Pan, or Lu Ban in Mandarin. He was a Chinese carpenter, engineer, philosopher, inventor, military thinker, and statesman during the Spring and Autumn period in China.

I took a quick look inside, though an elderly man was staring at me and I wondered if I should step inside and thought better not! But inside is a two-hall structure, with an unusual jagged roof and many colourful ceramic figurines decorating the roof.  

A quick walk along the neighbourhood revealed if I walked straight down I would hit Sands Street in Kennedy Town. So instead I took the long way, walking back up the stairs and continued a bit further down to HKU MTR station and then walked down Hill Road to Shek Tong Tsui.

The front of Lo Pan Temple

It was an interesting meander in the neighbourhood. 

Picture of the Day: Wan Chai Waterfront Extension

Boxing Day views of the Convention Centre and beyond

 

The Victoria Harbour water front on Hong Kong island is becoming more and more accessible. In mid-October the Belcher Bay harbourfront opened in Kennedy Town, and now a patch in between Wan Chai and Causeway Bay has opened to the public, east of the bus terminus by the Wan Chai Star Ferry.

Chocolate Rain has painted fun characters

A friend had posted a picture on social media the other day so we went to check it out.

It's a small area right now, but it's very colourful with lots of illustrations by local design brand Chocolate Rain. Instead of steel gates lined by the water to prevent people from falling in, instead there are relatively thin steel cables hung between posts to allow more view of the water.

There's even a maze painted on the ground as well as other drawings, making it another version of "Instagram Pier" -- the latter being a real working port complete with cranes and well-worn shipping containers and stacks of pallets, making it industrial and edgy. This new area is perfect for young children to hang about, though if the skaters find out about it, they'll be all over this new concrete space...

With the pandemic children have taken to playing with scooters, while teenagers and young people are showing off their tricks on their skateboards. 

Steel cables prevent people from going into water

Nevertheless, we're liking these new extensions every few months. They add a few more kms to our walks!

Picture of the Day: Rainbow

A beautiful rainbow at sunset in Kennedy Town today

 

It's been a crazy week. Four lawmakers disqualified after the National People's Congress Standing Committee claimed they did not uphold the Basic Law and pledge allegiance to the Hong Kong SAR. The following day 15 of their colleagues resign en masse, leaving two independents as the only opposition.

The Hong Kong Bar Association and Law Society both question the legality of the NPCSC's decision and are asking for clarification.  

And then a freelance reporter with RTHK appeared in court to face charges of false declaration when she conducted registration searches on vehicles that were in videos related to the July 21 attack in Yuen Long last year. Bao Choy Yuk-ling was granted bail, and her case will be heard in court January 14.

As if that wasn't enough, the number of coronavirus cases keeps rising, though the majority are imported. But the government insists it needs to prevent a fourth wave from happening so now it will force "high risk groups" to do mandatory testing, restaurants are back to four to a table, bars and pubs to two, and these establishments must close by midnight.

Today I decided to nip downstairs to take a quick look at the sunset (now at 5.40pm), and after I took some pictures I turned around to see people taking pictures of the sky. I looked up and saw a brilliant rainbow! What a surprise and a happy one. 

I don't know how that rainbow appeared as there was no precipitation today that I know of. But I'll take it as a sign that things could get better soon.

Public Space Opens in Kennedy Town

A girl and a boy hanging out at the new promenade

 

By the Belcher Bay bus terminus, there is a nice walkway that led to... nowhere. 

Until now.

After dinner I went out for a walk and was surprised to see the giant yellow water barriers were removed to reveal a giant public space and a small dog part to boot!

There's a public washroom at one corner and piles of painted pallets, benches for people to sit on and even chairs. How novel!

The walkway on the left now has more space

The government prides itself on completing this project ahead of schedule. On a plaque it explained construction started in the second half of 2018 and was supposed to be completed in 21 months.

"Traditionally the Promenade should be open to the public only when it is fully completed. That said, having regard to keen public expectation in getting close to the Harbour, the Government has adopted the latest 'incremental approach' advocated by the Harbourfront Commission and strived to first complete and open the 5-metre boardwalk in the first quarter of 2019.

"Belcher Bay Promenade is the first completed project under the 'incremental approach' by the current Harbourfront Commission. The arrangement allows the public to enjoy the boardwalk 19 months ahead of the original schedule, testifying the effectiveness of the phenomenon."

This doesn't really make much sense, implying the project was finished in two months. In any event we're just glad it's finally open and it will be interesting to see how the public, particularly residents in the area take to the space.

A small dog park for canines to socialize

For daytrippers visiting Kennedy Town, they will find more things to photograph and another reason to take their pet Fido there. Tonight lots of dogs were running around the area. It's going to be the new hangout spot other than Instagram Pier.

Raining Down our Walk

Kowloon side (left) was raining, while HK Island was sunny

I have been doing weekly walks with a colleague and we decided to head off late this morning. However, about 15 minutes after I started walking eastwards, I could see dark clouds ahead and didn't have an umbrella with me.

Undaunted, I kept going and we met halfway at Tamar in Admiralty before continuing to the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre and then turned around and made our way back towards Kennedy Town.

However when we were at Admiralty, we could see dark clouds hovering over the Peak and felt it was going to rain soon. We jogged (with masks on) to the Central ferry piers and made it just in time under the covered walkway before the wet onslaught began.

 

We retreated to nearby Jardine House, where in the basement there is a glorified food court and had an early lunch of laksa and chicken lemak washed down with fresh coconut.

But afterwards it was still raining and we grabbed a drink at Starbucks. I suggested we continue by power walking in the mall, and thanks to the developer Hong Kong Land, we were able to make it to the IFC mall by a covered walkway completely dry and then did loops around practically every floor of the shopping mall.

We even walked the covered walkway to Shun Tak in Sheung Wan, but when we got there, it was pouring again and we retreated back to IFC mall. 

Eventually we went back to Sheung Wan again and as it was still raining we abandoned our walk and took the MTR home.

But by the time I emerged from the Kennedy Town station, the rain had stopped for the rest of the day!

Wonder what tomorrow's weather will be like...!

Coronavirus Overloading the System

Chui Tak-yi (centre) asked people to stop from gathering

Another triple-digit count of 128 cases today, with 103 locally transmitted, and 35 cases had unknown sources. Health officials are warning that the hospital system is being overloaded and reminded people again not to gather in large groups, and instead stay at home as much as possible.

In fact this afternoon on my weekly long walk, I saw police (in groups of four) at the Central ferry piers, Dr Sun Yat-sen Memorial Park, and even Kennedy Town. In some cases they took down notes of people, handed out leaflets, or advised people to social distance.

There are constant reminders to social distance

Meanwhile at piers 9 and 10 there were some yachts bobbing around the area waiting for clients to embark on their junk trips, though these should really be banned for the next few weeks.

But there are serious concerns about Hong Kong's health system being able to handle the surge in positive cases, with some 100 people waiting to go to hospital for treatment.

Health Authority chief manager Linda Yu Wai-ling admitted the situation was "not ideal", saying that there is "great" pressure on the public healthcare system and staff are having difficulties dealing with all the cases.

Perhaps that's a big hint for people to stay at home?

Now four people from here have been infected

Meanwhile at today's press briefing, Undersecretary for Health Chui Tak-yi fielded a lot of questions from reporters, as three more people from the Sheung Shui Slaughterhouse were found to be infected with the coronavirus. There were queries if the virus could be passed onto the pork that they processed, and Chui just replied that like other food, the pork should be cooked thoroughly before consuming it.

There were also questions of why the government is only now imposing more restrictions on seamen coming to Hong Kong to board ships. Currently they arrive in the city, take the Covid-19 test, but leave before receiving the results, some of them positive, but there is no way of contacting them because the information they left behind is incorrect.

This loophole will be tightened on Wednesday, but it has taken several days and numerous positive cases from seamen from the Philippines, India and Pakistan for the government to finally clamp down. The same could be said for air crew.

Guy on left from FedEx on Peak Tram

In fact, today someone on Twitter reported they were riding the Peak Tram when an American guy next to him started chatting and said he was a FedEx flight crew member who had just arrived from Boston. He took the Covid-19 test but didn't have to wait for the results and was riding the Peak Tram and planning to eat at Burger King later!

How could that be?!

Absolutely shocking that aircrew are allowed to wander around freely and not stay confined in their hotel rooms.

A spokeswoman for The Hongkong & Shanghai Hotels that owns the Peak Tram was quick on the ball to reply to the tweet, saying the tram was disinfected with diluted bleach after each ride.

Perhaps the government will be grilled about this tomorrow?

But one of the best questions at the press conference directed at Chui was: "If the government is not listening to the advice of health experts, what is the point of having them?"

Chui was probably relieved he could hide his embarrassment behind his surgical mask, but it was a question that had to be asked.

He replied that the government does take their advice into consideration, but kind of left it at that...

Massive Turnout for Pro-Democracy Voters

This old China Motor Bus is converted into a polling station

The first day of the primaries began after a three-hour delay and started at around noon. Robert Chung Yiu-ting, head of Hong Kong Public Opinion Research Institute explained in the early hours of Saturday that it was because of the police raiding its Wong Chuk Hang offices that they reset the encryption key for the voting system out of security concerns.

However, the delay did not deter voters at all. Benny Tai Yiu-ting, one of the organizers of the primaries, had hoped for a total turnout of 170,000 -- but in fact almost 229,000 came out to cast their vote on the first day alone.

Long lines of voters were seen today

The primaries are an opportunity for pro-democracy voters to choose their best candidate for the upcoming Legislative Council elections to avoid splitting the vote. Tai is hoping for at least 35 pan-democrats to be voted in to take at half of the seats.

On social media there were pictures of long lines in many places, including 200 in Tai Po Plaza. The polling stations were also held in locations not necessarily easy to find, as Secretary for Constitutional Affairs Erick Tsang Kwok-wai had warned the primaries could breach the national security law.

Some district councillors had planned to use their offices as polling stations, but were warned by their landlord, the Housing Authority, that doing so would breach their leases. Also a gelato shop that sells "tear gas ice cream" as one of its flavours in a shopping mall in Tsuen Wan was also warned about using its space as a polling station and pulled out.

Nevertheless, there were several unusual polling stations. One was an old China Motor Bus in Tuen Mun, and even a lingerie shop in Kennedy Town -- how did the men feel being in a shop full of bras! There were jokes about the primaries having "lots of support" coming out of the lingerie shop.

At one point several police descended on this shop as there were many people waiting to cast their votes. But luckily they were satisfied people were practicing social distancing and left.

This lingerie shop was also a polling station

Joshua Wong Chi-fung, formerly of Demosisto, canvased for votes in Kwun Tong and told people it was either the ballot or the bullet -- a pretty stark choice, but he went straight the point.

Some people voted after seeing the news of Wong's colleague, Nathan Law Kwun-chung flee Hong Kong, while others voted for localist candidates knowing they may not win, but wanted to have their voices heard.

And isn't that the point of voting? Universal suffrage was promised in the Basic Law but still has yet to be realized...

First Dip in Months

Thirty-three swimming pools in Hong Kong reopened on Thursday

On Thursday public swimming pools in Hong Kong reopened cautiously after two months because of the coronavirus pandemic and I gave it a shot.

A fellow gym member who is also an avid swimmer texted me to say she had gone at 1pm and was so excited she swam 4k. For her it was a breeze because she had been swimming in open water for the past two months and built up enormous shoulders, sending me a picture of her hulking upper arms as proof.

The pool in the right was closed, but the other one was open

She encouraged me to try the pool out before the hordes came and I decided to take her advice.

At around 8.30pm that evening, I headed over to the pool and was surprised to find I was the only person entering the lobby area, where there was a temperature scanning device. No one said anything to me as I went through the turnstile up to the changing room.

There was hardly anyone in there either -- just another person who was dressed and ready to leave -- just as I was getting ready to go in.

It was so bizarre as the place is usually buzzing with mothers corralling their children into the showers, or coming out with towels wrapped tightly around their bodies, or busy blow-drying their hair.

My favourite area, the 25-metre pool was closed, so I had to either make do with the 50-metre pool inside or outside and I chose the latter.

There were barely 20 people in the large pool which again was a strange sight, but it was good not to see too many people in there. I went into the far side and the water was refreshingly cool. However, the first several laps were a struggle! It was almost as if I had forgotten to swim properly and on top of that not being used to the long distance.

Social distancing was maintained in the pool

I did freestyle for one length and then breast stroke on the return, followed by a few seconds of rest before heading back out again. By around lap 16 I started getting the hang of it, stroking properly and breathing; swimming forces you to breath out slowly as you blow bubbles, unlike wearing a surgical mask on land where you take very shallow breaths.

There was some light rain as we swam, but thankfully they disappeared, along with more swimmers in the pool.

Don't know when the next time I'll be back, but yes, it was good to be back in the pool again.

As Expected, Protests Return Amid Pandemic

Hundreds, possibly thousands gathered at Cityplaza in Taikoo Shing

The 10pm shout outs are back.

This evening people in Kennedy Town were shouting slogans related to the anti-government protests and now they are back on again with the additional stress of the coronavirus pandemic.

They were shouting in solidarity to those protesters in Taikoo Shing who tried to gather in the Cityplaza shopping mall in response to the arrest of 15 prominent lawyers, activists and lawmakers for allegedly organizing illegal marches last year, as well as the liaison office's insistence that it has every right to have its say in Hong Kong affairs.

People shouted slogans from anti-government protests

 The liaison office declared it had "the authority to represent the central government to exercise oversight, be concerned about and express stern views on important matters involving the relationship between the centre and the special administrative region" among other things. It basically proclaimed that it was putting Hong Kong was put under Beijing's control.

Meanwhile there is no authority or body defending Hong Kong -- the government is complicit in allowing the liaison office to twist words and create new rules on how the city is governed. It is the Hongkongers who are the last line of defense for their own city. We pay our leader very well not to act in our best interests, but her master's.

We have no way of impeaching her for dereliction of duty to us.

The police quickly came into the mall to shut down the event

Up until last week we all believed that Hong Kong was ruled under the concept of "one country, two systems" and promised a "high degree of autonomy" until 2047, and in Article 22 it states: "No department of the Central People's Government and no province, autonomous region, or municipality directly under the Central Government may interfere in the affairs which the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region administers on its own in accordance with this Law."

And so people are out tonight to voice their displeasure at Beijing, shouting slogans before police arrived on the scene. Officers were dressed in riot gear and armed with rubber bullets and pepper spray to clear crowds in the name of social distancing.

There was at least one nasty altercation -- Remember district councillor Andrew Chiu Ka-yin, who last November in the same mall was attacked by a man who bit off Chiu's ear?

District councillor Andrew Chiu's aide was injured by police

This time his assistant was wrestled to the ground head first by the police, and for 10 minutes he lay on the ground and appeared to be dazed and not moving. Volunteer medics tried to help him before the ambulance arrived.

RTHK reports Chiu says the medics told him his assistant could not talk, but could only communicate by blinking his eyes.

Chiu got emotional, apologizing to his assistant's parents, saying they were only there to protect the community.

If there was an independent inquiry into the police, tonight's altercations would not have happened.

Picture of the Day: New Kennedy Town Park

Check out this new sleek public space that hopefully will be opened soon

Despite the coronavirus pandemic in Hong Kong (four new cases today, all from the UK), life has gone on in Kennedy Town and a new public space will soon be unveiled!

Almost every evening I walk along the waterfront, and there were some large yellow plastic barriers put up and there was no way to see what was going on there.

Then suddenly the other evening there were lights shining in the area and a few of us strained to have a look.

This evening the space next to the park opened up

In between the cracks we could see a spanking new park! A highly programmed one, but looks sleek and ready to go, but since that day it still hasn't opened to the public for use.

And then today the space next to it was opened up, a long narrow strip of land that was literally empty for a long time. I wonder what will go there, but at least things are happening! It makes the waterfront much more interesting for the community.

Picture of the Day: Knit-bombing in Kennedy Town

Just a guy and his dinosaur hanging out at the Kennedy Town waterfront

Today Hong Kong recorded 43 new confirmed cases of coronavirus, bringing the city's total to a whopping 453, with health officials expecting many more in the coming days.

These fears have spooked people so much, that most bars around town were completely dead or shut, not wanting to be the cause of more infections.

The cutest person knitting with their friend

Meanwhile working from home (WFH), while convenient -- steps away from bed to desk -- being at home all day can be tiring. I stayed home all day yesterday, so I was determined to step outside today.

The Kennedy Town Waterfront area is a small promenade that doesn't connect to anything yet, but it's decorated by a talented knitter who has crochet some cute characters to brighten up the area.

Last year there were other creatures, but recently they have been taken down and replaced with other colourful characters.

Ok ok they aren't practicing social distancing, but you can't help but smile watching them put their arms around each other as they enjoy the view of Victoria Harbour.

Two mice sitting with flowers in their paws

I really would like to thank whoever has been doing these knit-bombing projects. They are a wonderful addition to the area and I hope more will be added.

Just a quick walk to this area is a good way to boost the spirits, have some fresh air and soak up some Vitamin D!

Toilet Paper, Masks and Rice are Prized Commodities

Two women clutching their prized toilet paper packs in Hong Kong

Last night the shelves that were supposed to stock toilet paper were bare in a large supermarket in my neighbourhood. It was completely cleared out, and after seeing this in several stores over several days, it's worrying.

It's a sad indictment of the Hong Kong government when people are desperately searching for toilet paper even though supermarkets and distributors have tried to reassure the public there is more than enough bog roll to go around.

The largest supermarket in the district is empty of toilet paper

This morning I was in Central on my way to the gym when I spied someone carrying a pack of toilet paper, and she was coming from a supermarket nearby. I decided to check it out as I had never been to Food Le Parc, a bizarre name for a supermarket owned by tycoon Li Ka-shing.

And bingo! There were several shoppers there each with two packs of toilet paper in each of their carts. The price was more expensive than usual, but heck -- you need it, right?

I also got a roll of paper towels, as I was truly running out.

Afterwards, I clutched my toilet paper pack close to my chest and carried it to the gym where I stored it in my locker. Luckily I didn't get any strange looks.

Anthony Lam says there is more than enough rice for a month

However when I came back to Kennedy Town and went up the escalator to the wet market, one woman going down spied my prized possession and asked if I had gotten it from the pharmacy. "I got it in Central," I replied, much to her surprise.

Meanwhile it seems rice is still also a precious commodity, and Anthony Lam Sai-ho, a rice importer and member of the Trade and Industry Department's Customer Liaison Group for Rice, tried to tell the public there were no need to panic when it came to enough rice in the city.

He said the government's rice reserve as well as the industry's own stockpile would be enough to meet the city's demand for more than a month. But even if Hong Kong needed more rice, it could be imported within 10 days or less, as most of it is sourced from Thailand and Vietnam.

Most of Hong Kong's rice comes from Thailand and Vietnam

Lam said the city's 229 importers were required to set aside 17 percent of their monthly import for reserve, which at the end of January was at 13,000 tonnes, enough for about 15 days. And then there is another stockpile by importers that was about 14,000 tonnes, again enough for more than two weeks' consumption.

However, people are still stockpiling on rice, emptying shelves of the staple faster than shop staff can restock them.





My relatives who came back from northern Japan managed to secure enough masks for their family of three for three months. They scoured every pharmacy, supermarket and convenience shop for them. In some places they could only buy packs of three, in other places they managed to buy boxes of 60.

A lot of people are shopping for masks in Japan

On their flight back to Hong Kong this morning, they noticed elderly passengers had lots of luggage and assumed they too were hunting for masks, a more important concern than seeing the sights. They also saw many young families from Hong Kong who were also on holiday since school is still out until mid March.

One more thing about toilet paper -- the Consumer Council has also advised people not to hoard toilet paper, and that they should not store their numerous packs of toilet paper in the bathroom where it is more humid and germs often thrive. Better to stick them in a dry ventilated space.

People won't be needing to buy toilet paper for a while... right?