Chat about Novel Coronavirus - 2019-nCoV - COVID-19

Rumours of the Olympics being cancelled/ delayed have begun.

Officially renamed Covid-19 now.

Well if I wanted to go and cough in the waiting room of my surgery, I can't. It's shut for a deep clean.

Don’t know where to say this, so here goes: I am from Hong Kong but have lived in the UK for years.

For the first time yesterday since this shit storm has kicked off, my family finally asked me if I could find some face masks to send them from the UK. They have never asked me to do anything for them, but they have done a lot for me in the last few years.* I would if I could, money is no object (to a point) here, as I am fortunate enough to have a well paid job, but proper PPE is now something money cannot buy. Even if they had all the PPE in the world, that still wouldn’t guarantee their safety as the HK gov is well and truly fucking useless.

I can’t stop thinking about them, but there doesn’t seem to be anything I could do. I haven’t felt this hopeless in a very long time.

*Both my parents have passed on, so these are my uncle and aunt who have really helped me when my mum passed few years ago.

Sorry...

What's the problem? Just get some on ebay?

Fake masks is now a thing. Recycled masks as brand new is also a thing now. Selling empty boxes is also a real thing now.

Every single legitimate outlet has sold out, if you can get hold of some that can actually be protective, then I will stand corrected.

Wearing a mark that isn’t certain types can put you at greater risks than not wearing one.

I can’t tell from your reply what sort of tone you were having, if you were asking genuine questions, then I appreciate it. But if you were being sarcastic then please stop, it is a very sore point for a lot of people.

I didn't realise it's all fake now. I got a pack 2 years ago for my wife to wear to work when she has a cold. I think we still have most of them.

You could try ordering from Germany and paying with Paypal.
https://www.medicalcorner24.com/

Keep them for rainy days. Supplies won’t be stable for weeks yet... apparently.

It was in the HK news today a cancer patient had to rearrange his appointment because he couldn’t get a mask to go out and hospitals in HK right now is the last place someone like him would want to be.

There is also a 100 year old woman with disability who cannot get any masks because shops are sold out and she obviously doesn’t know how to use the Internet.

These are just the tip of the iceberg, som many prowl who can’t get masks for various reasons. Some are disabled, some are poor, some are ill, some are old.

In the UK, food bank is now a fucking normal thing. Well, in HK, people who have a iota of conscience who also have connections to masks are now donating masks to certain ‘collection points’, so vulnerable people can queue up for hours to get a hand full. Mask bank is now a fucking thing in HK and is trending.

HK prisons actually produce surgical masks in the millions every year, in the last few weeks, they have been working 24 hours to increase their production, but instead of selling these masks to HK people at cost or near cost price, they ship them all to China to save the fucking motherland. Motherland, my ass. And guess where these actual quality masks end up? On fucking eBay 30 times the normal price, where are the sellers from? Our fucking motherland.

It is a fucking disgrace and I am beyond anger.

Taiwanese on the other hand, also technically Chinese, have long imposed boarder control, ban face masks from being exported and ban them from being sold as ridiculously inflated price. Now this is proper good government looking after their own.

HK gov, my fucking ass.

Ask @RichG, he is English but been living in HK for the last few years can he’ll tell you where all my angers have come from.

Sorry about the outburst of anger, but I am really beyond pissed.

The mask situation here in HK is terrible medical institutions do not have enough supplies to go round. The mystery of the CSI maks is strange the ones made by prisoners I think are meant to go to public services nurses docs police fireman etc but they are all running low esp the medical.
the price gouging going means many elderly and low income can't afford them. There has been some good donations by independent groups but that only goes so far.
the anger at the Gov for being so ill prepared esp after they way HK suffered with Sars is huge.
@Extra I hope you find some maks soon
if I find some I can post them to your auntie and uncle where in HK are they?

Thank you. I have just ordered the only type they have left available, which if I am honest, it doesn't sound right, but since it's Paypal, it should be OK. If for any magical reasons they all arrive and as described then my family and I thank you. :-)

Sorry again for being angry, I don't think I could remain sane if I lost another family member.

Thanks mate, really appreciate it, just ordered some from the link sohi provided, so if they all arrive, I will make sure you get some too.

😁 I'm quite lucky as I had some stashed my wife always seams to have a cold! So we are OK for now thanks very much though. 👍

I know people will be lining up to say " but masks don't help they do nothing" . But it helps people get through the day and feel safer, imo they do help just in stopping you touch your face and stop slow down the spreading if your ill.

Masks are like religion and prayers. If you believe they help and they make you feel reassured then go ahead as I know how much comfort people draw from them.

Restaurants are really hurting as locals heed the request to stay home. Bars are quieter but there’s still plenty of mainly white immigrants who want to live as normal a life as possible to keep them open. Depends how long you’ve been away but we have not been immune to the trendy craft beer pub craze. Here it’s done with true HK customer services, walk in, get a menu, wave like a loon trying to get someone to take your order, wait 15 minutes for your drink to arrive despite being the only person in the bar without a drink and them having at least two barmen checking their phones behind the bar. If you’re with someone, expect a few minutes gap between different drinks arriving.

Lovely little simulation model by the MODLABs team that my economic network lecturer showed us to today: - link

Quite a fun simulation where you can change some of the, largely unknown, parameters relating the virus, e.g:

1. Length of contagious period (i.e the increased probability that you are going to encounter someone and hence infect them.
   
2. You adjust the number of people who have been affected so far
   
3. The impact on travel restrictions
   
   

Some of the really cool data is their methodology. They've already got a lot of rich set of data of where people are going all over the world whether its internal commuter trains between Wuhan and flights and connecting flights.

They were also able to predict a few weeks in advance that there may considerable under-reporting of the virus in China. They way that they did those was considering (at the time of their first analysis) by considering the 50 or so international travellers who had conducted the virus without having travelled to Wihuan. For example, someone in Tokyo who catches the virus who didn't go to Wihuan they estimate the probability of doing so. This is based largely on transport networks, e.g. the number of people leaving Wuhan via, train, car, etc and after that who are the most likely to make contact with and where are they going next. With all of this data be used that found that it was very unlikely that international (without a direct Wuhan visit) was extremely low. Their conclusion, along with another analysis, implies original case reportings were too low.

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Yeah I've been to that bar too.

Lots of my expat friends with kids are planning to leave temporarily because schools are shut. Some lost a month of schooling last year too. Some friends went to Thailand before CNY and are still on the beach or have gone up to Chiangmai.

Actually I’ve only been gone two years. My favourite craft beer place is the one in Tai Hang. I was never bothered by the slow service. The noodle and dumpling places make up for it by being super quick (and normally quite abrupt). I hope the little Shandongnese place on Burd Street has survived.

I'm (possibly) passing through HK at the weekend so if I do, and if I can buy more masks between now and then, I'm happy to post some to your relatives if that helps at all?

How long would they take to get to HK from here?

3 days to a week.

Thank you. I really appreciate it. If you could keep a look out, it would be amazing.

I have ordered some and it says delivery is 2-3 days so hopefully my order will get here on Friday. If it did, would you also be happy to take a few boxes for me? My uncle has a car and I am sure he would be happy to pick you up from the airport and drop you off where you nee to be. He loves to drive... 🤷🏻‍♀️

On my HK folks in the UK forum, there are reports of parcels with masks going missing.

So they can stay here temporarily? But it’s not as simple as up and go, even just for a fixed period.

If my mum were still alive, that’s what I would force her to do...

@Rich_G. This is so sad that it is so funny.

The woman being slapped is the chief executive for HK who cannot or will no source masks for people HK, who has done precisely nothing to help them and suck up to China all day long, every day.

The folks who are slapping her with masks are businessmen, TV personalities, figures that represents local SME who have managed to get masks from other countries and are either selling them at the normal price or giving them away.

It is sad.

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