SCMP Editorial

Editorial | Tourists who fly into storm must pay way

Hong Kong citizens stuck in Peru and Morocco face a daunting and expensive return journey at a time when the government can ill afford to be distracted from the coronavirus crisis at home

Reading Time:2 minutes

Why you can trust SCMP

An employee wearing protective gear, working for environmental services company AMSA, sprays disinfectant on Piazza Duomo in Milan, on March 31, 2020 during the country's lockdown aimed at curbing the spread of the Covid-19 infection, caused by the novel coronavirus. Photo: AFP

SCMP Editorial

Published: 10:26pm, 2 Apr 2020Updated: 4:41am, 3 Apr 2020

Many Hong Kong travellers are still stranded overseas as the global pandemic forces more countries into lockdown. While the government is expected to do its best to help, there is a limit as to how much it can do.

The latest moves to bring home those stuck in Peru and Morocco underline the difficulties involved. Those who ignore travel warnings to go abroad must realise that they risk the health and safety of the public as well as their own.

Such operations are no less challenging than returning hundreds of citizens from the coronavirus epicentre of Wuhan on the mainland or the Diamond Princess cruise ship in Japan. Neither Peru nor Morocco host Hong Kong government trade offices.

Furthermore, the lack of direct flights also means there are higher infection risks during transit, and arrangements must be carefully thought through to minimise risks.

The news that a tourist from Hong Kong has died from Covid-19, the disease caused by the virus, in the Peruvian city of Cusco underlines how difficult the situation is. By Tuesday, the government had received 91 requests for help in relation to those who went to Peru, nine of whom had already left.

Even with a chartered flight from the country’s capital Lima to London, and then a connecting service back to Hong Kong, the journey is not easy. The trip from Cusco to the airport takes 20 hours by road and reportedly costs a fortune under the state of emergency declared by the local government.