Opinion

When the coronavirus and racism collide: the good, the bad and the ugly

Name: Worldwide reported coronavirus infections top 12 million
Uploaded: 2020-07-12T19:00:05.000Z
Duration: 1 min 48 s
Description: Worldwide reported coronavirus infections top 12 million

The beauty of dedicated health care workers, the ugliness of incompetent leadership and the sheer explosiveness of Covid-19 racism are all food for thought – along with a gaffe by new minister Erick Tsang

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Police officers disperse domestic helpers as they gather in Central, Hong Kong, on their day off last April. Hong Kong has long been criticised for its treatment of people with brown skin, particularly helpers from the Philippines and Indonesia. Photo: Edmond So

Mike Rowse

Mike Rowse has lived in Hong Kong since 1972, and is a naturalised Chinese citizen.

Published: 3:00am, 13 Jul 2020Updated: 3:05am, 13 Jul 2020

Two huge issues are sweeping the world. Each has aspects of beauty and ugliness but when they overlap, sparks start to fly. The two are the Covid-19 outbreak and the need to address systemic racism.

It is difficult to overestimate the impact of the novel coronavirus, with over 12 million cases worldwide, around a quarter in the United States alone, and more than half a million deaths. These sombre numbers are still rising, and accelerating in South Asia and South America.

Even places that have achieved some control are vulnerable to fresh outbreaks. There is no end in sight, until an effective vaccine is available, still many months away.

Beauty has been shown by the dedicated medical staff working despite the risks to themselves and their families; the plea “we stay here for you, please stay home for us”, was particularly touching.

At the institutional level, China deserves much credit (though got precious little) for exporting essential supplies. Germany lent a helping hand to its European neighbours, while New York passed on ventilators to states further west after tackling its own surge.

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Worldwide reported coronavirus infections top 12 million

Ugliness has been represented by the sheer stubbornness and incompetence of so many world leaders, prominently US President Donald Trump, Brazil’s Jair Bolsonaro and Britain’s Boris Johnson. Efforts of only a few places earned applause from the international media, with New Zealand and Taiwan rating favourable mentions, and Singapore lauded until its numbers began to soar.