The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region is still fighting an uphill battle against the COVID-19 pandemic, which some experts believe is getting out of control, but too many local residents remain oblivious to the looming public-health disaster. The number of confirmed cases of novel coronavirus infections now exceeds 600. And about two-thirds of them were reported in recent weeks, prompting University of Hong Kong microbiologist Yuen Kwok-yung to warn that confirmed cases could top 2,000 soon. This estimate is based on several factors, not the least of which is a lack of crisis awareness among many young people, including those who have recently come back from foreign countries for fear of the worsening pandemic and growing racial discrimination in their host countries.

This estimate is based on several factors, not the least of which is a lack of crisis awareness among many young people, including those who have recently come back from foreign countries for fear of the worsening pandemic and growing racial discrimination in their host countries

The SAR government reported on Monday the police had found more than 70 “tagged” individuals of violating quarantine rules, while three men were sentenced to up to three months in prison for flouting the quarantine rules in the city’s first such convictions. Another alarming revelation is that several people who recently tested positive for the virus had not traveled outside Hong Kong or come in close contact with confirmed patients in the previous 14 days. Commonly referred to as “infection source unknown”, such cases pose a greater challenge to disease control because they make contact-tracing extremely difficult, if not impossible. The worst-case scenario would be that the source is someone who has ignored a quarantine order and sneaked out of his/her house while he or she should have been in self-isolation.

The nonchalance many residents have demonstrated toward public-health warnings also threatens to compromise anti-epidemic efforts. For example, some people have failed to heed health authorities and medical experts’ calls advising them to avoid crowded indoor venues. These people have continued to patronize popular bars and restaurants. It is not clear why they seem so unconcerned with their own safety, and that of their family members, but the fact that most of them are relatively young is undeniable. It may have something to do with reports that the great majority of fatalities and critically sick patients are senior citizens and those with underlying health conditions. It is not surprising that most if not all “party animals” here are young people who consider themselves as “fit as a fiddle”. Maybe they have all got health insurance, but there is no guarantee they won’t infect family and friends who are vulnerable or who don’t have medical coverage.

Moreover, a sudden surge of COVID-19 cases will no doubt overwhelm the public healthcare system, which may find itself unable to save everyone at some point. The best way to avoid becoming a victim or liability is to strictly follow quarantine rules as well as health advice for as long as necessary. Why risk having to choose between hospital or prison when you can simply opt for self-isolation at home?