Can Hong Kong protect itself from coronavirus?

On Monday, one hour before 2,700 medical workers were to begin a strike, Hong Kong’s chief executive called a news conference. Everyone thought she would announce a closure of all the city’s borders with China, the main demand of the workers.

But Carrie Lam, angry and ashen-faced, announced the closure of only 10 out of 13 border points and denounced the strike. So the nurses and doctors carried out their threat and stopped working.

Nine months of political protest and widespread anger and mistrust of the government are infecting the battle against the coronavirus. So far, Hong Kong has recorded 15 cases and one death. In China, the death toll is 425, more than the 349 killed there by the SARS epidemic of 2003, with over 17,000 confirmed cases.

In response, Russia, Mongolia, North Korea, Nepal and Singapore have closed their borders to mainland Chinese. Many airlines have stopped or sharply reduced their flights to the country.

“There are still three crossings open and many mainlanders can continue to Hong Kong,” said Winne Yu Wai-ming, chairwoman of the Hospital Authority Employees Alliance, which organised the strike.

“Carrie Lam is just not listening to what most of the Hong Kong public is demanding,” said Brenda Cheung, a nurse at a large public hospital. Half of her colleagues at the acute medical ward where she works plan to strike. During a health emergency, this is an extraordinary response — it means that their anger against the government outweighs their sense of professional duty.

So why will Carrie Lam not order a full border closure? The situation of Hong Kong is different to that of any other place fighting the virus. It has land, sea and air borders with mainland China; in normal times, tens of thousands cross each day, by foot, car, train, ship or plane. Much of its economy depends on this rapid flow of people and goods.

Lam said the World Health Organisation had not recommended such closures. “Large numbers of Hong Kongers still need to cross the border, and barring all mainlanders from entering would be discriminatory,” she said. Thousands of Hong Kong people who cannot afford its sky-high property prices live in the neighbouring city of Shenzhen and cross the border each day to work. Lam said that the closure of the 10 crossings would sharply reduce the inflow of visitors — potential carriers.

The coronavirus has arrived in the middle of Hong Kong’s most serious political crisis since 1997. After marches and protests since last June, police have arrested more than 7,000 people. The government has refused to meet the demands of the protestors. One is the removal of Lam as chief executive.

A survey published last month by Hong Kong University found only 27 per cent of respondents satisfied with the government, while 49 per cent were dissatisfied. The net satisfaction rate was negative 23 per cent, a new low for the current administration. Relations between the public and the police have never been so bad.

Last weekend, residents of the Mei Foo district marched to protest the possible use of a nearby cultural centre as a quarantine site. When anti-riot police came to confront the protestors, residents gathered at their windows and booed them loudly.

Many believe that the government’s response to the coronavirus has been too slow. During the last week, thousands have queued for hours to buy a limited amount of facemasks, the minimum protection against the disease. Fearful that shops in the future may close, some have been stockpiling supplies of rice, instant noodles and other foodstuffs.

“The governance system of Xi Jinping is responsible for the rapid propagation of the disease,” said Alex Chen, a business consultant. “The Wuhan government detected the first cases in December. But it had to wait until late January before announcing it, because it needed approval of the central government. Xi has created a system where only he can take major decisions. This is dangerous.”

The protests and the virus have taken a heavy toll on the Hong Kong economy. Official figures released on Monday said that, in 2019, it contracted by 1.2 per cent for the full year, the first year-on-year fall since 2009. In the third quarter of 2019, it fell 2.8 per cent and, in the fourth quarter, 2.9 per cent.

“The outlook for the Hong Kong economy in 2020 is subject to high uncertainties,” said a government spokesman. “It depends much on the development of the coronavirus infection in Hong Kong and Asia, which could further weigh on economic sentiment, consumption- and tourism-related activities.” Unemployment is expected to rise to four to five per cent, up from 3.3 per cent, with job losses at shops, restaurants, hotels and other tourist facilities.

The chalice Lam is holding becomes more poisonous by the day.