Considering the worsening of the coronavirus outbreak in Hubei with more than 14,000 new infected cases reported on February 13, we are writing to call for immediate assistance from the Hong Kong government for residents stranded in Hubei.
While the Department of Health has arranged to deliver medicine to Hongkongers in need, there is no guarantee the supplies will arrive on time.
The government should work more closely with local hospitals, including the Wuhan Asia General Hospital run by a Hong Kong businessman and where a number of infected residents are hospitalised, to provide medicine and treatment to those in need.
Among the more than 2,000 Hongkongers in Hubei who requested help, priority for assistance to return to the city should be given to those with chronic diseases or in need of medical attention due to pregnancy.
As some cities in Hubei, such as Yichang, have begun to let people leave with proper documentation from the authorities of their destination cities, the Hong Kong government and the local universities should liaise with the Hubei provincial government to allow the departure of healthy Hong Kong residents and students.
To accommodate those returning from Hubei, the government should be more aggressive in finding sites for quarantine centres, through invoking the Emergency Regulations Ordinance to use private premises such as Ocean Park and Hong Kong Disneyland Resort hotels.
Shanxi Li, master’s student, Language Studies, and Dr Simon Wang, lecturer in English, Baptist University