Editorial | Rallying call for the Hong Kong spirit is needed in virus crisis

The city must come together with a joint effort to contain the spread of infection paramount

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People line up to buy face masks outside a pharmacy in Hong Kong. Photo: EPA-EFE

Published: 11:17pm, 8 Feb 2020Updated: 11:17pm, 8 Feb 2020

After mounting criticism of an indecisive response, the government has finally introduced a measure that goes some way towards addressing the gravity of the threat posed by the new coronavirus.

From Saturday travellers from mainland China, or who have been there in the past 14 days, risk jail for breaching a requirement to spend 14 days in quarantine. The new rules were soon put to the test with the arrival of a delayed flight from Beijing which failed to beat the Friday midnight deadline, leaving fliers in an unexpected predicament. Apparently implementation was orderly, with 161 quarantined.

But given the dire need to contain a disease that has spread rapidly in mainland China, loopholes remain. Travellers without symptoms will have to spend 14 days in isolation at home, with friends or family, or at pre-booked hotels, or otherwise be sent to quarantine accommodation.

Questions raised by critics and medical experts include how to ensure compliance and how hotel stays could be considered mandatory quarantine. Reliance on self-discipline clearly does not remove the risk, prompting calls for tougher penalties and exclusion of all Hongkongers under the 14-day rule.

The government must therefore keep reviewing its response, while preparing for worse to come. This may be only the beginning of a long, hard battle, not made any easier by failure to secure stocks of masks and many other hygiene needs.