Pointing fingers but also calling for unity in Hong Kong's fight against the Wuhan coronavirus

Seen at a cinema concession stand hours before Hong Kong's

cinemas were closed down for what I hope is just a two week period

A much less crowded than normal Saturday evening 

shopping mall scene at Cityplaza yesterday

Another phase has begun in Hong Kong's battle against the Wuhan coronavirus: with cinemas, gyms and other entertainment venues (though not mahjong parlours!) being shut down for at least two weeks and restaurants and bars being among the public venues being subjected to new social distancing laws that allow a maximum of four people to gather together at any one time.  With the number of infections being reported to have risen by a further 59 today to a total of 641, I really do hope that these measures will prove effective, and before too long; this not least since there does appear to be a genuine danger that Hong Kong's public hospitals will run out of isolation beds "very soon" if the number of cases continue to surge by the dozens each day.

To be sure, Hong Kong is not currently a major disaster area like, say, Italy (whose death toll surged past the 10,000 mark earlier today), the USA (which became the country to have over 100,000 confirmed Wuhan coronavirus cases on Friday) or Britain (whose number of coronavirus fatalities went over 1,000 yesterday and whose medical director was trying to be optimistic when he talked about being able to keep the numbers of deaths to below 20,000). Even so, there is little doubt that many residents -- including those who previously weren't -- have gotten freaked out at the increase in Hong Kong's confirmed infection numbers.    

In addition, a good number have become pretty mad at the minority of people who have insisted on continuing to party and otherwise gather in large crowds and close proximity as well as chosen to eschew wearing masks.  While Carrie Lam appeared to zoom in on reports of a 50-year-old female coronavirus patient who purportedly had one night stands in Lan Kwai Fong, others' ire have been more generally directed at those expatriate folks who frequent the type of bars whose crowds tend to spill out onto streets and which tend be associated with the alcoholic drinking style of the West.

One reason for this is that a number of those expats are the type who had left Hong Kong for safer environs some months back, only to return after those territories started to have way more Wuhan coronavirus cases than the Big Lychee -- and bring not only the behavior that encourages the rampant spread of the coronavirus but also the very disease itself back to Hong Kong!  And adding fuel to the fire is the distinct sense that quite a few of us have that those also were precisely the type of people who do not care all that much for Hong Kong, did/do not support the pro-democracy protests and, indeed, would frequently complain that the struggles for a free Hong Kong were threatening to destroy Hong Kong's economy.  

Now, with the government's imposition of stricter measures against such as public gatherings being seen as in no small part due to their errant behavior, people are further up in arms against these errant expats; this not least because, predictably, the disreputable outfit that is the Hong Kong police have made use of these new laws to target pro-democracy protestors and their supporters.  Put another way: the misbehavior of a minority of people, including those who currently reside here but don't really consider Hong Kong home, looks to have provided the authorities with further means to come down on those people it should be serving but consider to be their enemies.   

In view of such "developments", the possibility that further measures could be imposed against public gathering because of the Wuhan coronavirus pandemic is really troubling.  Consequently, pro-democracy Hong Kongers have added incentive for helping get this infectious and deadly disease under control, and sooner rather than later.  So, no, I'm actually not celebrating that yet another police officer has been reported to have been infected by the coronavirus.  Incredibly (with such as the actions of the infected police officer who refused to wear a mask while in hospital), even in this fight, it can seem like we all may not be on the same side -- but, really, the sooner we are on the same page, the healthier it will be for all of us!