'It's like a war': the fight for rice and toilet roll as coronavirus convulses Hong Kong
It is reminiscent of the Soviet Union in the 1980s. Queues form at the crack of dawn every morning in front of supermarkets across Hong Kong, with people scrambling to lay their hands on the basics: rice, toilet rolls and disinfectant.
For the third week in a row, supermarkets shelves that usually heave with bags of rice – a staple food for Hong Kongers – are empty, and packs of noodles are running out too, although there is still plenty of meat and vegetables.
Shelves for toilet paper, tissues, kitchen towels, baby wipes, hand soaps, alcohol hand rubs and cleaning agents such as bleach, floor cleaning liquid and all manners of disinfectants and antiseptic products in supermarkets and pharmacies are also bare. Supermarkets have started implementing a rationing policy limiting customers to two items of the products in short supply.
Although Hong Kong has only 50 confirmed cases of coronavirus and one fatality, there is widespread anxiety that the epidemic could last many months and basic necessities will run out. A deepened sense of crisis once again grips the community, which has been blighted by months of anti-government protests in which over 7,000 people have been arrested.
On Wednesday morning, dozens waited outside a supermarket on Bonham Road in the Mid-Levels, a gentile, upper-middle-class neighbourhood, with many wrapped in headscarves and thick jackets and medical masks.
“We have no idea how long this will drag on for and the more I hear about the more panicky I get,” said Mrs Chung, who did not wish to give her full name and who had been waiting since 7am, an hour before the supermarket opened. “Even the medical professionals are running out of gear – how can you not get worried?”
Despite officials and traders’ reassurance of food supply, the 65-year-old was not convinced. The Rice Merchants’ Association of Hong Kong, said last week the supply of rice was regulated by the government and there were still 13,000 tonnes in storage.
“I don’t believe a word the government says. My view of our future is very grim,” said Chung, before she hurried into the supermarket with dozens of shoppers.
What is the virus causing illness in Wuhan?
It is a member of the coronavirus family that has never been encountered before. Like other coronaviruses, it has come from animals. Many of those initially infected either worked or frequently shopped in the Huanan seafood wholesale market in the centre of the Chinese city.
What other coronaviruses have there been?
New and troubling viruses usually originate in animal hosts. Ebola and flu are other examples – severe acute respiratory syndrome (Sars) and Middle Eastern respiratory syndrome (Mers) are both caused by coronaviruses that came from animals.
What are the symptoms of the Wuhan coronavirus?
The virus causes pneumonia. Those who have fallen ill are reported to suffer coughs, fever and breathing difficulties. In severe cases there can be organ failure. As this is viral pneumonia, antibiotics are of no use. The antiviral drugs we have against flu will not work. If people are admitted to hospital, they may get support for their lungs and other organs as well as fluids. Recovery will depend on the strength of their immune system. Many of those who have died were already in poor health.
Is the virus being transmitted from one person to another?
China’s national health commission has confirmed human-to-human transmission, and there have been such transmissions elsewhere. As of 12 February there are now 45,182 confirmed cases and 1,115 deaths. There are cases in 28 other countries outside China, with deaths recorded in one case in Hong Kong, and one case in the Philippines. The number of people to have contracted the virus overall could be far higher, as people with mild symptoms may not have been detected.
The number of confirmed cases of coronavirus in the UK has doubled from four to eight after four more people in Brighton were diagnosed with the infection over the weekend.
One of the other four confirmed cases is being treated at the HCID unit at the Royal Free hospital in north London, and the two Chinese nationals who tested positive for Coronavirus in York are being treated at the HCID centre in Newcastle.
Why is this worse than normal influenza, and how worried are the experts?
We don’t yet know how dangerous the new coronavirus is, and we won’t know until more data comes in. The mortality rate is around 2%. However, this is likely to be an overestimate since many more people are likely to have been infected by the virus but not suffered severe enough symptoms to attend hospital, and so have not been counted. For comparison, seasonal flu typically has a mortality rate below 1% and is thought to cause about 400,000 deaths each year globally. Sars had a death rate of more than 10%.
Should I go to the doctor if I have a cough?
Unless you have recently travelled to China or been in contact with someone infected with the virus, then you should treat any cough or cold symptoms as normal. The NHS advises that people should call 111 instead of visiting the GP’s surgery as there is a risk they may infect others.
Is this a pandemic and should we panic?
Health experts are starting to say it could become a pandemic, but right now it falls short of what the WHO would consider to be one. A pandemic, in WHO terms, is “the worldwide spread of a disease”. Coronavirus cases have been confirmed in about 25 countries outside China, but by no means in all 195 on the WHO’s list.
There is no need to panic. The spread of the virus outside China is worrying but not an unexpected development. The WHO has declared the outbreak to be a public health emergency of international concern, and says there is a “window of opportunity” to halt the spread of the disease. The key issues are how transmissible this new coronavirus is between people and what proportion become severely ill and end up in hospital. Often viruses that spread easily tend to have a milder impact.
Sarah Boseley Health editor and Hannah Devlin
Panic has set in across Hong Kong over the coronavirus outbreak, which has killed more than 1,115 and infected over 45,000 across the world, mostly in China. A number of private clinics have closed temporarily after they ran out of masks. Hospital staff say they are running out of masks and protective clothing, prompting a strike last week that demanded the government close all its borders with China and provide adequate protective gear.
Thousands of people camped overnight early last week, braving chilly winds outside an outlet that had procured a supply of masks from the Middle East. Long queues quickly form in front of any shops where a fresh stock of necessities in short supply have arrived. People join if there is a queue just to grab what they can get hold on.
On Bonham Road on Wednesday morning, the few remaining items of rice and paper products were quickly snapped up, leaving most customers disappointed. A staff member said: “It’s like there’s a war on – things fly off the shelves as soon as we restock.”
“How about flour? You can make pancakes then,” said an elderly lady with a smile.
Joseph Cheng, a retired political scientist at the City University of Hong Kong, said the panic buying stemmed from a deep level of distrust in the government, which is seen as incompetent in handling the crisis. What started as a public health crisis has turned into yet another political crisis.
Related: Deeper economic turmoil looms for Hong Kong amid coronavirus panic
“It is a governing crisis – they cannot even secure the supply of masks, people cannot be reassured. The epidemic could have been an opportunity to restore confidence in the government,” Cheng said, adding that Hong Kong’s Asian neighbours such as Singapore, Taiwan and Macau have all implemented measures to help citizens to secure the supply of masks.
A poll carried out by the Hong Kong Public Opinion Research Institute last month showed the level of distrust in the government has plunged to 69.2%, an all-time low since the poll began in 1992.
Johnny Lau, a political commentator on Chinese politics, said the lack of trust in the Hong Kong government has extended to Beijing and as Carrie Lam, the region’s chief executive, is deeply unpopular but supported by Beijing “people will be sceptical towards Beijing’s policy towards Hong Kong”.
“This shows that Hong Kong’s political future is only heading for self-destruction,” he said.
