It's as bad as we feared but dared not say
The past week has hammered home the reality of Hong Kong's pneumonia outbreak - it is as bad as we all secretly feared.
As the death toll rose to 12 yesterday and the number of people infected reached 470, atypical pneumonia has become not just a story to watch on television or read in the newspapers, it is eating away at the fabric of normal daily life.
Weekend charity events, festivals, regular meetings and family outings have been scrapped as Hong Kongers focus on the virus and how to avoid it.
The city is gripped with fear.
Concerns now have a double focus: the Prince of Wales Hospital, where most of those infected have been isolated, and, more worryingly, the residential area of Amoy Gardens in Kowloon, where 78 of the infected live.
Putting aside the welcome release from hospital yesterday of nine medical staff and students who have recovered from the disease, the rising tide of daily infections is fuelling concern.
Last Sunday, 25 new cases were registered, a figure that rose during the week to 51 new cases on Thursday, 58 on Friday and 45 yesterday.
Health chiefs say all 12 people who have died from the virus are over the age of 39, many of them old and infirm. Those released yesterday were all much younger and stronger.
With a huge elderly population, Hong Kong must be especially vigilant.
The past seven days have also seen the outside world signal its concern, with some countries considering travel restrictions on Hong Kong visitors unless the virus is brought under control quickly.
Airline bookings are down, the tourism business is in a tailspin, and economists predict long-term doom and gloom.
Add to this the string of top rock acts - the Rolling Stones, Moby and Santana - calling off visits because of the bug and you have a dire week that was.
Criticism of the government and its handling of the crisis has been fierce and often justified, but it would be fair to say that a collective sigh of relief went up last week when Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa announced measures aimed at tackling the virus.
What could be considered Hong Kong's worst seven days in decades started with a top-level warning when Hospital Authority chief executive William Ho Shiu-wei was confirmed to have the disease. He remains in hospital.
The search also began, and is still going on, for 2,000 foreigners who stayed at the Metropole Hotel in Mongkok between February 18 and March 3, where the Hong Kong outbreak is believed to have originated.
On Wednesday, Education Secretary Arthur Li Kwok-cheung said he would not take the 'desperate measure' of shutting down all 2,100 schools and kindergartens. Fifty to 60 schools suspended classes voluntarily.
But the government did order six schools to shut for seven days and 182 pupils whose family members have the virus have been suspended.
By Friday, what was previously deemed 'desperate' was now a necessity.
Special quarantine laws were invoked. More than 1,080 people who have had close contact with disease sufferers will be put in quarantine from tomorrow.
Professor Li also announced all schools, nurseries and child day-care centres would close from tomorrow until April 6.
Graphic: HOSP30GET
