In the latter half of 2020, second or even third waves of Covid-19 are erupting in Hong Kong and other cities around the world. In the past six months, Hongkongers have not eased off of preventing the spread of this pandemic. They diligently wear masks and frequently wash their hand. These self-help tactics were inspired by the fight against SARS in 2003 which took the lives of almost 300 people including frontline health workers. Today, an infectious disease silently stalks our communities once more. Healthcare workers and Hong Kong citizens are again holding the front line while they take the opportunity to strengthen public awareness of pandemic control in order to fight Covid-19 as one.

At the beginning of the year, Hong Kong citizens demanded a border lockdown to reduce inbound travellers and help control local viral spread. Back when public health experts lacked information about the virus, medical workers and citizens transporting supplies faced the virus head on, jointly holding the front line to protect the health of Hongkongers. All stood fast at their posts, providing timely medical support and supplies to the people. When medical workers went on strike to demand border lockdown, it was to prevent any more frontline staff from having to sacrifice their lives. As cardiologist Dr Alfred Wong, who works at a public hospital, put it, “We chose to fight this battle, but we never wanted to be fighting the government simultaneously. Medical workers in Hong Kong have been fighting for their demands, for border closures and better protective gear. We will not let any of our colleagues be sacrificed for something trivial during this battle. This is not the time to be heroic.”

At the beginning of the year when it was next to impossible to find a single mask and citizens were queuing up in early hours to buy masks, postal workers were working day and night hoping to get masks into the hands of the people so that they could go out and about with peace of mind. When postal worker Mr Chan was out delivering masks on his night shift one evening, some citizens decided to give him some of the masks he had just delivered. Even during a raging pandemic, the Hongkonger spirit of helping one another had not abated at all.

Neither the Hong Kong government nor the Hospital Authority learned their lesson from SARS: unprepared for an epidemic, especially in terms of community health, leading to increased waiting times in public hospitals, with the public healthcare system nearly maxing out. Systemic flaws are highlighted at the peak of the pandemic.

All ordinary citizens can do is wear a mask, wash their hands and maintain personal hygiene in the face of this virus that may never go away.

The road to winning this fight remains long. At the end of July, outbreaks began appearing in our communities once again. Cases of unknown origin further strained the public healthcare system yet Hongkongers continued to stand fast at their positions, protecting the health of others they’ve never even met without any regard for political affiliation.

Volunteer first responder JT provided first aid to citizens at the protests last year. He firmly believes that hope is never far away and that one must “dare to reach your hands into darkness to pull another to light.”

The Hongkonger spirit of helping one another continues to guard and guide our city’s recovery from polarisation to pandemic. “Resist the pandemic; see these words and drink lots of water!” [*1]

We Are HKers is a bilingual platform built by a group of Hong Kong volunteers living in different parts of the world. We aim to share a multi-dimensional perspective of the individual voices of HKers to people around the globe and let them see the attributes and values embraced by HKers.

Visit www.wearehkers.com and follow our social media @hkersweare for inspiring HKers’ stories, unique culture and delicious recipes of HK food.

Contributors: Silence Is Blue, Alex Rednaxela, Zucchhi, Fuigei, Johnny Chan @ We Are HKers

***

Footnotes

[*1] The first half of this slogan is adapted from the 2019 protest’s main rallying cry: “Liberate Hong Kong, revolution of our times.” The second half is simply a widely shared reminder to “drink lots of water” as staying hydrated is widely believed to prevent and cure ailments.

---------------------------------

Apple Daily’s all-new English Edition is now available on the mobile app: bit.ly/2yMMfQE

To download the latest version,

iOS: bit.ly/AD_iOS

Android: bit.ly/AD_android

Or search Appledaily in App Store or Google Play