Letters | Did Hong Kong government learn nothing from Sars? Mask panic and price gouging suggest so

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People scramble to buy protective masks at pharmacy in Hong Kong on January 29, amid fears of the Wuhan coronavirus spreading among the local population. Photo: Bloomberg

Published: 7:25am, 2 Feb 2020Updated: 7:54am, 2 Feb 2020

Ever since the terror wrought by the 2003 outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome (Sars), the Hong Kong government has assured us that it is prepared for any such recurrence.

Undoubtedly it is acting, and the excellent medical professionals we rely on are performing their duties with great admiration. It has to be said, however, that the government has failed at the most basic level.

That police have to be called in to quell what may well be described as “near riots” at storefronts during the people’s fruitless and panicked search for protective masks that we’ve all been instructed to wear, is the sign of a significant deficiency in preparedness.

How sad that the government has to issue media releases denying rumours of its provision of such basic protective measures for its citizens, rather than proudly make announcements that this is what it is actually doing.

We also have stories of retailers selling masks at multiple times their original retail value, using supply and demand economics to put profits ahead of people.

Hong Kong may jealously guard its reputation as a free and open capitalist society, but it should never consider the health and safety of its citizens as so “laissez-faire”.