Expat e-mail: Hong Kong

Expat e-mail: Hong Kong

Hong Kong is at the centre of the current outbreak of the deadly virus, Sars - Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome. Joe Wheller, 31, a British market researcher who has lived on this island for two years, is trying to stay calm amid the panic.

I got back from holiday in Bali last week, to work, and just happened to sneeze as I was sitting down at my desk. Suddenly the secretary rushed over to give me a mask to wear.

It's that bad at the moment. A few weeks ago, people would look at you strangely for wearing a face mask but now it's the other way around - you feel in the minority for not having one.

It's the locals who are wearing them, while the expats are more relaxed. I haven't succumbed yet. If you look at the statistics, the chance of coming down with this virus is still minute.

In Kowloon, housing estates have been sealed off

It's partly because of where I live and work - in the Causeway Bay area. It's a busy residential and business district but the virus hot-spots are in the housing estates of Kowloon in the north of the island. It's more an area for locals than westerners.

Besides, if you're young and reasonably robust - in good health - there's no need to panic. Ninety percent of those who have caught Sars recover within a week.

Those who have died are from the high risk groups and are in more fragile health. A colleague of mine is staying here, but his heavily pregnant wife and daughter have gone back to France because they're more vulnerable.

Generally, it's only the susceptible ones who are staying away from work. Two women from my office have taken their laptops home and are working from there.

How Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome has spread around the world

SARS guide

And the company has been responsible. They've told us that if you wake up in the morning and feel unwell, then stay at home and see how you feel by the afternoon.

There are a lot more cleaners at work, as well. There's an emphasis now on keeping germs down, with more disinfecting in the toilets and the air-conditioning units being regularly checked.

I've had plenty of concerned e-mails from friends at home, but my family are fine about it. In fact, my dad is out here on holiday at the moment and he stayed at the Metropole Hotel, where one of the first infections have been traced to. But he's relaxed about it.

It's difficult to know just how serious the authorities are taking it. The Rugby Sevens [an international rugby tournament] went ahead a few days ago, when they could have called it off.

The 'up' side

It doesn't seem consistent that if this is such a terrible virus, how can you get a group of people together and let them fly off around the world the next day?

People have switched from public transport, says Joe

But there is an 'up' side to it. In some ways, life has been enhanced.

I went down to the horse racing on Wednesday night and there were noticeably fewer people there. Down by the trackside, it's usually three or four deep, but this time it was possible just to stand by the track and get a great view.

There are noticeably fewer people out at night as well, so you can get a table at a restaurant without a problem.

Sars is the only topic of conversation at the moment. It's more on people's mind than the war. The problem is, there lots of e-mails and rumours going round that are causing people to panic.

At the stock exchange, it's business as usual

A couple of days ago, I think it was April Fools Day, some bloke put up a spoof website that was made to look like one of the newspapers. It said Hong Kong was going to be sealed off and that people should stockpile food, and people were fooled by it.

I'm just going to keep my eyes on the statistics. If the infection rate starts shooting up and it gets out of hand then I'll start worrying.

But for now, I'm wary but also healthily cynical about the situation.

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Send us your comments:

I'm a teacher in an International School in Hong Kong. Before the HK Government closed all schools last week, I went down with bronchitis. What would have been a routine visit to the doctors turned into a scene reminiscent of a sci-fi movie. The reception staff and other patients steered clear of me, the surgery emptied, the doors were opened and masks were donned. I was of course terrified that I was on my way out until the doctor told me I only had bronchitis. Now, the corridors are empty, the rain permeates the already gloomy feeling from the staff. All teachers have to work normal hours and although for the first 2 days we appreciated the time to catch up with our paperwork, now we miss the children. Some children are coming up to school, barely recognisable behind their masks, to get their homework and assignments. Those who have been to HK will share an ironic smile when I say I've seen locals removing their masks in order to be able to expectorate and spit on the ground. Old habits die hard!
Jane Engelmann, Hong Kong

I walked out of my office the other day and watched in horror as two women crossed the one-way street nervously donning their face-masks, oblivious to the bike bearing down on them. Fortunately the driver skidded to a halt just in time. The statistician in me appreciated the irony of the situation. In 2002 the Hong Kong government recorded 3,298 deaths from pneumonia, which is just under 10 people a week. So far 22 people have died from Sars in HK in the past 4 weeks.
Conden McWirter, Hong Kong

Our company has gone more than one step further - all staff must wear masks throughout the day. All non-essential travel is cancelled, sales calls are effectively banned and our pregnant staff have been sent home on paid leave as a precautionary measure. But the HK Government has been inept and extremely slow in acting to stop the spread and contain the areas that are severely infected, ie the Amoy Gardens estate. People literally fled the estate when they found out about the disease, and the authorities seemingly have done little or nothing about retrieving these people. I plan to travel to the UK next week on a business trip, but there is an increasing possibility it will be cancelled. How many clients in the UK are going to see someone who has just stepped off a plane from Hong Kong?
Gareth Bousfield, Hong Kong

The comments of an expat who has little contact with the real HK bears little relevance to what most are feeling.
T K Chan, HK

I have a lot of friends and relatives in Hong Kong. Thank god all the people I know are well but everyone is taking adequate precautions to avoid getting the virus. One family I know in the UK have children going to boarding school of which most boarders are from the Far East. He is thinking of giving his kids masks to prevent infection. However, I have been told by a number of medical sources the masks are only effective for about 30 mins. I also have a family wedding to go to in June, which will be attended by people from HK. I am in a difficult position whether to go or not. The chance of catching it is small, going by statistics.
Wei, UK

I've been here nearly ten years now, and have married into a Chinese family. While I think that Joe has painted a reasonably accurate picture of the confused and contradictory situation, this is from his Gweilo (foreigner) perspective. Having seen people panic buy and sell shares, property, cakes (of all things) and behave in totally unpredictable ways over the past decade, one cannot easily foresee the outcome of this "crisis". One thing is for certain, the increased link between the mainland and Hong Kong is both a blessing and a curse. While Joe and others appreciate the extra space in bars and restaurants, after the past 2 years of depreciation in the hospitality and retail sectors, this is really heaping misery upon misery for the long-term viability of the Hong Kong we know and love.
David Thilwind, Hong Kong