Coronavirus: masks, hand sanitisers mark tourism experience for visitors in Hong Kong, with foreigners fleeing mainland for perceived safety in city
- Some have cut short their stay on the mainland, fearing Hong Kong would close off its borders, while others are on transit in city
- Most say streets are visibly quieter but they are not yet worried and have taken steps to ensure proper hygiene
For New Yorker John Austin Deming, his first time in Hong Kong has been an experience of donning face masks and arming himself with a hand sanitiser and a small bottle of oral mist spray.
The 57-year-old tourist and his wife planned initially to stay longer in Guangdong province for Lunar New Year, but amid the Wuhan coronavirus outbreak and fearing the Hong Kong-mainland border would be closed soon, they shortened their stay there and arrived in the city on Wednesday.
“I don’t want to be caught on the mainland. So we came to Hong Kong earlier to make sure there are flights back home,” Deming said.
Taking a break from the discomfort of wearing a mask at the Avenue of Stars waterfront in Tsim Sha Tsui, Deming said he was not worried about the spread of the virus in Hong Kong. He added that he made it a point to change his clothes and shower when he went back to his hotel each time.
To the American civil servant, being able to see the local attraction, modelled after Hollywood’s Walk of Fame, was a dream come true.
“It means a lot to me. I wanted to see the bronze statue of Bruce Lee,” he said, adding that he grew up watching martial arts movies and played with related toys.
With the number of confirmed coronavirus cases in mainland China rising to more than 11,700 and a death toll of over 250, Hong Kong, with 13 confirmed cases as of Saturday morning, has suffered under the double whammy of the disease and ongoing anti-government protests.
