LettersCoronavirus pandemic: four reasons Hong Kong put up a better fight than many other cities

3-MIN READ3-MIN

A crowd of commuters in face masks at the Hong Kong MTR station in Central on April 9. Tragic memories of Sars meant ordinary Hongkongers were on high alert early on against the coronavirus pandemic. Photo: May Tse

Published: 6:45am, 13 Apr 2020Updated: 6:45am, 13 Apr 2020

Even as Covid-19 became a global pandemic, the number of confirmed cases in Hong Kong had remained around a hundred or two. Hong Kong is situated in the south of China. Geographically speaking, people in Hong Kong were more vulnerable to the novel coronavirus than the rest of the world. Yet, case numbers remained comparatively low.

Some may wonder whether differences in the public health measures taken in Hong Kong and the West had a role to play, as they try to pinpoint what factors could have contributed to Hong Kong’s comparative resistance to coronavirus. Public health measures could be a sound explanation, but there may be others.

One of the underlying reasons would be the Sars outbreak back in 2003. There were 1,755 confirmed cases in Hong Kong, and 299 deaths. Apart from the community outbreak, doctors and nurses were also infected and died. Patients who survived the disease suffered from complications arising out of treatment.

Both the severe acute respiratory syndrome and Covid-19 diseases are caused by coronaviruses. To Hongkongers, the latest coronavirus outbreak was a reminder of our dreadful experience 17 years ago. Everyone in Hong Kong had been on the alert and wearing masks as a precaution, even before the Hong Kong government abandoned the notion that masks are only for symptomatic people.

Second, the anti-extradition protests that started in June last year were also a factor. The protests escalated even after the Hong Kong government agreed to withdraw the extradition bill, and transformed into a movement for five demands. The protests caused a tremendous plunge in tourist arrivals from the mainland. This was probably more of a factor than the government’s partial closure of the border after the coronavirus outbreak in the mainland.