Hongkongers Fleeing Home

A lot of students doing a "we-fie" as they fly back to Hong Kong

After the Hong Kong government announced mandatory home quarantine for all travelers starting on March 19, people, many of them students, are scrambling to come back before the deadline.

First of all because of the scarcity of flights, prices have gone through the roof. A one-way ticket from London to Hong Kong now costs HK$51,817 (US$6,672) -- and that's just economy.

Check out the price of a one-way ticket back to Hong Kong!

Second, sitting on a plane for several hours raises people's fears of catching the coronavirus. One student was photographed today at Hong Kong International Airport wearing a hazmat suit, goggles and a mask.

He was probably right to do that.

Hong Kong now has 165 cases as of today, including an 18-year-old who was studying in Switzerland, a 21-year-old male university student who studied in London, a 27-year-old who studied elsewhere in Britain and a 24-year-old who worked in Denmark.

Other cases include a 69-year-old man who had traveled to Britain, Paris and Spain; and Cathay Pacific flight attendant who had been to Madrid, and a 30-year-old woman who had visited Paris and London.

A student didn't take any chances and suited up for the flight

Yesterday it was found at least 20 passengers who arrived at Hong Kong airport had a fever and were immediately sent to hospital. In addition there were about a dozen people who wrote on their health declaration form that they had symptoms (turns out mostly respiratory symptoms) and they too were hospitalized.

As a result Hong Kong's health care system is getting close to its limit in dealing with all these cases.

Unfortunately it has to be spelled out to everyone regardless of when they came back to Hong Kong that they should really self-isolate for two weeks out of courtesy and safety for everyone else. But there are some people who don't think this applies to them and go about their regular routine and may possibly be infecting others.

Hong Kong airport is much busier than in the last few weeks

Hong Kong's number of confirmed cases are going to increase in the next few days and weeks ahead. While we are doing well compared to other cities and countries, it would be less stressful for the rest of us who haven't traveled in the past two months if those who have (even before March 19) were more considerate towards the wider community during this time and do the right thing.