Every Hongkonger who moves away is a loss for family and friends, and for the city. While fewer may leave under the BN(O) visa scheme than Britain predicts, we need to create a better city for new talent and existing residents alike.

Densely populated with old, subdivided flats in poor repair, the Kowloon district has, unsurprisingly, become a centre of Covid-19 contagion. Immediate action is needed to tackle the dilapidated housing and poor living conditions.

The city’s demanding restrictions on returning residents have disrupted plans and imposed a mental and financial strains on many. More should be done to make Hongkongers comfortable and healthy in quarantine, and ensure hotels are affordable.

The most important thing is to get as many Hongkongers vaccinated as possible. Giving people a choice of vaccines will boost confidence. No matter where the vaccines are from, they will be subject to stringent reviews and quality tests.

War is not inevitable – Washington and Beijing are going through a low point in their relations, but the incoming Biden administration is likely to bring positive change.

Hong Kong remains the world’s top air cargo port. Beijing’s green light for the integration of Zhuhai and Hong Kong airports has put paid to speculation that it was favouring Shenzhen as the aviation hub for the Greater Bay Area.

The US and Hong Kong business communities can expect more stable leadership while a divided Congress means radical changes or huge spending packages are unlikely, which is good news for investors.

Hong Kong is more than a decade late in confronting the problem of its municipal waste, whose growth has outstripped the city’s population. We simply don’t have any wiggle room; for future sustainability, lawmakers must agree and vote for the scheme.

Hongkongers love to get and share news via social media, but it’s important to avoid spreading misinformation, which erodes trust in institutions and disconnects and divides people. We should all stop, reflect and verify before forwarding that link.

In deciding to remain in the legislature, the pan-democrats risk accusations of betrayal and voter rejection. But everyone needs to let go of something for the greater interest of Hong Kong.

Why open pools but not beaches, or target domestic workers for gathering on their day off? To address public frustrations, the government needs to explain restrictions more thoroughly, use them in a more targeted way, and enforce them more fairly

Hong Kong now has experience organising large-scale, rapid community testing and screening, which gives it a big advantage as the winter flu season approaches along with the risk of a new spike in coronavirus cases.

Globally accepted norms must be developed before cross-border travel bubbles can be set up, specifying what tests are acceptable at which labs. The initial chaos caused by Hong Kong’s new travel rules highlights the need for such a digital health code.

Hong Kong was moving forward with travel bubble arrangements before the third wave of infection hit. Ironically, the cautiousness that has made Asia successful in the Covid-19 battle may keep the region from easily forming air bridges.

Every day, 10-15 tonnes of discarded masks end up in Hong Kong’s landfills, and more wash up on the beaches. The challenge is for Hong Kong is to design a mask that meets expert standards and is environmentally sustainable.

The Trump administration’s aborted visa rule change, which threatened deportation for foreign students in the US, was political and desperate. Kudos to the US universities and companies who stood up and fought to right a wrong

Security and stability is good for business and ends the political gridlock distracting the government. Even the threat of US sanctions seems to be receding. New law also makes China feel more secure about Hong Kong.

Rather than a government-run or policed system of registration for journalists, Hong Kong should consider setting up a self-regulatory journalists’ body, to liaise with police on safety and access issues, and keep student reporters safely away from the front lines.

After trying Beijing’s patience for years with squabbling and political gridlock, Hong Kong must now be patient and have faith that the national security law will be implemented properly, with clear and precise wording.

It will be a long time before the world as a whole goes back to its old travel habits – maybe not until well into next year. But it does not have to mean we must all be stuck in Hong Kong for another 12 or 18 months.

By the time the WHO formally declared a Public Health Emergency of International Concern on January 30, any government could have started preparing. From Hong Kong to Hanoi, Asian governments took the pandemic seriously and acted fast.

With limited places available in quarantine facilities, many people have been served stay-home orders that could not have worked without a group of people dedicated to improving the tracking gadgets and monitoring that quarantines are observed.

The city was not alone in being hit by a ‘second wave’ of infections last month as Hongkongers returned sick from abroad and locally transmitted cases also shot up.

Hong Kong is being lauded for its containment effort now countries in the West are experiencing the challenges it faced in the early days when infection numbers spiked. Government competence can only go so far. The real heroes are all the people.

The possibility of any disruption to Hong Kong’s economic relations with the US is worrying. But despite hawkish rhetoric and the passage of the Human Rights and Democracy act, there is considerable goodwill in the US towards Hong Kong.

The government and private sector are doing their best to boost supply but there just aren’t enough masks to go around. The advice for all to wear a mask when outside, based on the idea that it’s better to be safe than sorry, is not feasible when supplies are limited.

Hundreds of thousands, including truck drivers and Hong Kong travellers, cross the border every day. And even government critics accept that we can’t just switch off the flow of goods from the mainland. Is it helpful to politicise this issue?

Is it fair to demand small business owners, who put money and hard work into their ventures, take a political stand?

The long tradition of putting fiscal responsibility above all and keeping Hong Kong business-friendly at all costs, is changing as the government shows a greater willingness to redistribute wealth, look after those in need and give everyone a fairer deal.

A whistle-blower culture is taking hold around the world. So, even with scepticism about the official line, it is puzzling that some in Hong Kong still believe there were deaths in an MTR station even though no one has come forward.