I'm living in Hong Kong during the coronavirus outbreak AMA

[FreakishKoala]

I had to NC for this in case i scare anyone I know inadvertently with an answer.

I'm a British expat and I live in HK. It's not mainland China, but it's close enough and life during coronavirus is a little different here to in the UK. So I'm happy to answer any questions about the Asian repsonse and currnelty life in Asia etc.

Are you feeling worried?

My bro. is in mainland China in Kunming, which is like a ghost town in the pics. he sent me. People are being arrested for sharing stuff like this which terrifies me.

Do you feel that Hong Kong have a handle on the coronavirus, China seem to be too secretive for me.

@skyejuly - no more worried than I would be outside of Asia. The virus seems to be fairly mild for most people. My biggest concerns are actually around supply of goods and general life. So much is closed, we are all working from home, toilet roll and surgical masks are sold out everywhere... the virus itself is less of a concern than people's reactions and the fact that we are basically stuck in one city for weeks on end. Also, after months of protests, the economy isn't looking wonderful.

@justasking111 I hope your brother is ok! HK isnt as bad as mainland China. We are pretty lucky that the British colonial era at least left a legacy of slightly more freedom. However, people are being arrested for breaking isolation after trips to China and there have been reports of people being violent as a result of shortages of masks etc. It's not a ghost town - in fact this weekend in Central was the busiest I have seen it in months! People are staying at home a lot and are bored on the weekends I think.

The HK government is rather embattled. Whether they have a handle on it or not isnt clear, but given the sheer numbers of mainlanders that live in HK and have visited China recently, I would say that the relatively small number of cases is actually pretty impressive. Singapore has more cases than us. Unlike China, and given its status as a major financial scentre that needs to be seen as "free" in order to maintain its status in the world, my view is that HK doesnt tend to hide things like this, but maybe I am wrong.

What’s the general feeling there?