Commuting, shopping and eating out are ramping up again — but there are still restrictions, and the territory remains wary about what lies ahead
Hong Kong is slowly returning to normal. Kind of normal. Coronavirus hit the Asian financial centre earlier than many other places. The territory’s close links to mainland China, where the pandemic began in Wuhan in late December, made this inevitable. But Hong Kong had learnt from the 2002-04 Sars outbreak. Residents were quick to take action to mitigate the spread of coronavirus, wearing masks, using hand sanitiser and rigorously observing social distancing.
After healthcare workers went on strike to demand the government close the border with mainland China, it eventually did so. The data suggest it worked. Today social distancing measures were relaxed after authorities reported no new locally transmitted cases for a 16th consecutive day. Bars, gyms, beauty parlours, cinemas and other entertainment venues will be allowed to be reopen on May 8. A strictly enforced limit on the number of people allowed to dine together in restaurants will also be increased from four to eight people.
But the pain for many Hongkongers will only be partly relieved, as the government announced schools would not start reopening until May 27 and only in stages: students in the most senior years followed by primary school pupils in June.
The city is ready. Even before the announcement, Hongkongers had seemed confident they had overcome the worst of the crisis. This past weekend, residents filled the city’s beaches in a way they would not have dared to when worries about coronavirus were raging.
The atmosphere was upbeat. Many people seemed relieved, especially parents, who could finally let their children play freely. Many expats were relaxing, beer or wine glass in hand, enjoying the sunshine. But how are things different from the way they were pre-coronavirus? And will it last? I have been working from home since returning from London to Hong Kong in mid-March, when it became clear that the situation was going to get bad in the UK and that Hong Kong would be safer.
I’ve been glad to be back. My family’s apartment in the New Territories overlooks the sea, and a promenade provides an easy way to grab some air and go for a run or a bike ride. There is also a pier, where my wife and sons often join the handful of locals who swim in the sea every morning.
We were able to do all of this throughout the crisis because Hong Kong was never subjected to the type of strict lockdown imposed in most of Europe and parts of the US. Social-distancing rules were put in place and Hongkongers, scarred by Sars, stayed at home in large numbers, observing the type of practices — wearing masks, constant hand cleaning — that took longer to be adopted in many other countries. Restaurants were not forced to shut down but many struggled with the sharp drop in commerce and were unable to remain open.
Those that did enforced strict guidelines, such as checking customers’ temperatures with a thermometer aimed at the forehead before entering, and making sure every other table was left vacant to ensure sufficient space between groups. On a trip to Din Tai Fung, the Taiwanese eatery famous for the most amazing xiao long bao (soup-filled dumplings), our family of five had to sit at two separate tables. It worked out better than expected, especially as my wife and our middle son sat together and were able to order items on the menu my other two sons and I did not want.
Plenty of places had started relaxing their enforcement of social distancing rules before today’s announcement. Last Sunday, beaches and hiking trails were as packed as they would have been on a sunny pre-coronavirus day, though restaurants maintained their firm line on dining groups not exceeding parties of four, warning customers that the authorities were monitoring them closely.
Things started to change around Easter weekend, when the sun came out and the public holiday made people who had been cooped up for weeks eager to go out for a walk or to swim in the sea. Even though the rules hadn’t been officially eased at that point, the combination of falling rates of new cases and the warm weather convinced people it would be OK.
Many still kept a safe distance from passers-by. A couple of weeks ago, my family and I went to Central, the business district on Hong Kong Island, for the first time since January. It was my middle son’s 12th birthday and we went for his favourite lunch of a poké bowl at Pololi on Graham Street. We wore masks, took a taxi rather than an MTR train and kept our distance from others, even though there were fewer people around. I was nervous, more than the rest of my family, because a health condition means I am immunocompromised. But given the steady downward trend of coronavirus cases, it seemed a reasonable risk. In town, it was quiet but busier than I had expected.
Still, it was reassuring to see so many people wearing masks — including expats, many of whom had shunned them at the start of the epidemic — and maintaining a bit of distance. There has never been the same enforced separation as in the UK, where markers make clear how far one needs to be from the next person at supermarkets and the like, but people gave you space. It felt as if the city was returning to some sense of normality, even as people were understandably wary and cautious.
Things have improved even further. I still avoid the MTR, but platforms are now deep with mask-wearing passengers maintaining a healthy distance. Shopping districts are busy too, while bars are slowly seeing more custom and restaurants are becoming livelier.
I have even been able to get a haircut.
Still, there have been changes that are likely to be with us for a long time. I suspect that many people — expats included — will continue to wear masks when they go out, even if they aren’t feeling unwell. Shops, restaurants and many offices will check your temperature before you enter. And hand sanitiser will remain essential.
Despite the evident success of the measures imposed early on, however, authorities are warning of the need to remain vigilant for fear of a second wave of cases. But there is probably another reason the coronavirus rules were not lifted sooner: the government is also worried about a return of the pro-democracy protests that convulsed the city for months last year.
On May 1, police clad in riot gear used pepper spray to break up a peaceful demonstration in a shopping mall, telling singing protesters that they were violating social-distancing rules. This came after the authorities ramped up their efforts against the pro-democracy movement in recent weeks, even arresting some of its leading figures. These included Martin Lee, known as the “Father of Democracy” for helping to write the city’s mini-constitution after the handover from UK to Chinese rule in 1997. Hong Kong is, thankfully, returning to some form of normality. But that will not be the end of the challenges facing the territory.
Source: Financial Times
