In the news

A brief summary;

· Travelers should avoid close contact with people who are sick — particularly those with cold symptoms such as coughing or runny noses.

· Wearing a mask isn't particularly helpful, but travellers should wash their hands frequently with soap and water, making sure to scrub for at least 20 seconds. Don’t touch your eyes, nose, or mouth with unwashed hands.

· Steer clear of live animals - scientists have traced the Wuhan virus to a local seafood market with live animals but they're not yet sure which animal spread the virus to people.

· If you do become ill after traveling to the region, report your symptoms to a health authority right away. There appears to be an incubation period of about a week.

https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/index.html

HK is and even at the height of the protests was safe. But it depends where you base yourself as to how affected you are by the protests. Causeway Bay and lower wan chai are where to avoid. Nice lively places but you’re likely to have tear gas outside at some point. The areas west of central and the whole of the south side are almost totally unaffected. If you are with a toddler then somewhere near the beaches would be ideal. They have some nice beaches here and the water is warm all year round (just been for a dip before heading to work).

Safety wise is still the safest place I have ever lived in, if you came out you would be fine as long as you can be aware of planned protest in any areas. I'll have to say May would be v hot and v humid. Its a still a great city. Unless we are all wiped out by Wuflu and become zombies or something

Have a good Luna new year. Did you make it to any of the local fairs?

Happy lunar new year LFGSS!

Here in Singapore arrival checks are common practice, first case(s) admitted but otherwise business as usual. They’re definitely a panicky bunch but then again I wasn’t here during SARS. Fingers crossed it’ll all blow over very quickly.

HK economy sounds messed up enough as it is, a SARS like pandemic is the last thing they need.

The only thing I’ll add to the conversation is that the obvious racism towards the mainland Chinese is heading towards a whole new level atm - all ethnicities chipping in too. It almost makes Nigel Farage sound like mother Theresa.

Not yet but planning on getting to some. Especially now everyone is in hiding.

Happy luna new year jaw. Yeah there has been some nasty stuff floating about totally forgetting that those in mainland China are the ones mostly suffering from lack of information and the immediate threat of the virus.
hand sanitizer as old out at every place I tried today.

The racism was certainly an eye opener here when we arrived, that was 8 months before the protests but it was still a thing. Mainlanders are branded “uneducated, ill mannered, spitting, urinating in public, smoking anywhere and rude”, basically everything brits consider the French to be but without the beret, onions and striped top.

I live in the mainland and unfortunately there is some truth to that. Many many brilliant things about many many people in the mainland but it's not a stretch to call swathes of the population uneducated, and I see all those behaviours on a daily basis. Calling people locusts is too much though.

I'm in HK very briefly right now, happy lunar new year, 新年快樂，恭喜發財！

By "I'll mannered" you mean with the manners of a Ramsaye? Seems a bit harsh

You managed to get out then! Out of interest any extra measures in HK airport or just the normal screening gun thing?

Extra people with screening guns, stopping random people, but not as many as I thought. I was visibly sweating when I got off the plane as it was sooooo freaking hot but they didn't stop me. The only difference leaving Shanghai this morning was that they now have someone shouting at people to take their masks off before security.

Shanghai municipal health authority has texted everyone to say that if you have a temperature of 37.8 or above, or have been to Wuhan in the last 14 days, you have to go to hospital to get checked. Cos a public hospital is EXACTLY where I want to be at the best of time. Wuhan has started building a new hospital specially for coronavirus and plans to finish it in 6 days!

Hospital my arse, that’s an isolation/detention centre.

Thanks for the advise all, it sounds like we're going to be staying at crowne plaza, kowloon east, so any knowledge on place to go and see / eat with a little one, beach suggestion etc, would be greatly received.

They were doing those checks when I was in Shanghai back in May; but I think there was a swine flu outbreak at the time come to think of it.

Shanghai municipal health authority has texted everyone to say that if you have a temperature of 37.8 or above, or have been to Wuhan in the last 14 days, you have to go to hospital to get checked.

Here in the UK they are saying don't go to a public hospital or surgery but call NHS 111 first. They don't want the virus spreading to other already sick people.

Here in Singapore arrival checks are common practice

When I first went to Singapore they were checking for dirty western hippies. Long hair and beards were not allowed. Men with hair touching their collar or longer were offered the choice of no entry or a session with the shears.

Wuhan has started building a new hospital specially for coronavirus and plans to finish it in 6 days

That communism eh, got it's perks.

So HS2? What are people's thoughts?

I'm all for infrastructure building, high speed rail and connecting northern cities, but at what cost does it become untenable. Latest estimate is for it to go north of £100billion.

Does it really cost that much to build a rail line to Manchester via Birmingham?

The lines north of Brum will get sacked off. It’s just going to end up as a commuter line into London while us in the north will still have a horrific rail network.

The money would be better spent improving the network in parts of the country that need it most. Increasing capacity in the north west and Yorkshire should be the priority, including upgrading the cross Pennine links.

So HS2? What are people's thoughts?

We all need to change our lifestyles and travel less. We can't keep growing everything for ever on a finite planet.

Does it really cost that much to build a rail line to Manchester via Birmingham?

Apparently. 5x Crossrail for many more route miles although fewer complicated underground stations. HS2 has many tunnels etc.

It's worth noting that if you do want more capacity adding a pair of tracks to the WCML would probably cost more and cause more disruption as it goes through lots of towns and cities.

Capacity probably does need increasing so I'm not opposed to it.

Compared to the shit that you have to put up with the trains in the North though I don't think it's a priority.

It's all arse about. There are at least four fast routes between London and the north. Building a HS cross Pennine network would bring many more people/trips links to existing London routes as well as replacing millions of car trips in the area.
The existing HS2 plans will only serve a fraction of that population, some decades in the future. The main beneficiaries of HS2 are the engineering construction companies and their political friends. It should be stopped now.