The seven-day quarantine of the Metropark Hotel and its 300 guests and staff, to prevent the possible spread of Hong Kong's first swine flu case, ended with the best possible outcome: a clean bill of health for everyone, and almost everyone singing the praises of the government and the people of Hong Kong.
But it was not all smooth sailing. On one hand, the government at first adopted a righteous, rather than compassionate, stance in announcing the decision to cordon off the hotel. On the other, the operation was not implemented satisfactorily in the first days, resulting in a long list of complaints from the segregated guests. These included not enough clean towels, unattended rubbish in some corridors, and meals that were more suitable for the Chinese palate.
Chief Executive Donald Tsang Yam-kuen, who appointed himself chief commander of the operation, acted swiftly to avert a possible crisis. Every justified complaint, such as the limited food choice, was dealt with; every reasonable demand, such as a lack of alcohol, was granted. He made a public apology in three languages - Cantonese, Putonghua and English - to the hotel inmates for enduring the unexpected disruption and inconvenience.
The government also offered each overseas guest a free two-day hotel stay afterwards and a package of discounts and coupons for travel and entertainment within Hong Kong. The hotel's management and various sectors of the community joined in to show their support for the guests with cheering, slogans and gifts, and helped turn their experience into a more loving one.
So, following this generally positive victory in our first battle against swine flu, what lessons can we take away?
The first is that the government must place the human factor above all else when making any decision to fight an epidemic. Take the Metropark quarantine as a case in point: the fact that the government has the legal authority to execute such an order, under the Prevention and Control of Disease Ordinance, does not exonerate it from offering the best possible service and care to those affected, particularly if they are overseas guests.
This human factor is not limited to gifts and consumables. Take another example. Lawyers might have argued that an apology was not necessary to accompany a quarantine order. But, if we were doing something to minimise the risk of infection for the people outside the hotel, we should be thankful to those who stayed inside to help our cause.