Leaving Hong Kong

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  1. #1

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    Jan 2003
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    Post Leaving Hong Kong

    Any of the fellow Indians thinking of leaving Hong Kong
    if SARS accelerates. There is some onging discussion
    on this in asiaxpat.com about expats planning to leave
    Hong Kong. Any thoughts?


  2. #2

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    Here's where we (Rani and I) stand...

    a) There are several of us who consider Hong Kong as their primary home. Got to live here forever, cant just pack up bags and move to another place.

    b) The people moving around are now potentially spreading the virii if they're infected.

    c) If there was a place to discover you had the virus and get treated, its Hong Kong. Most other places are clueless about it.

    Just found out that someone's kid a couple of buildings away from us, has developed Chicken Pox -- now would we leave HK because of that?

    Having said that, we're keeping options open. I am definately not keen on moving away with a 9 month old baby ... can you imagine confining a kid in a closed / sealed canister (thats what most aircraft are) knowing that someone on there could also be infected?


  3. #3

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    my 2c

    Is the disease treatable?
    Upto last week, it looked like a matter of chance whether you survived or not. theer were no reliable reports of anybody having been discharged. Over weekend, it seems some people have been discharged
    although no specific treatment has been found, it is just that the aflicted's systems have fought back.

    if u want to leave , shd do so now shd not wait
    - if u leave, and situation improved, u spent some money thats all
    - if u dont leave, and we all start dying like flies!
    ...........


    also, why is there an unspoken expectation that this wont last long? are we falling victim to the Rumsfeld-Bush disease also?

    What is the guarantee that the infection continues to spread regulalrly from Guangdong? ( periodic outbreaks)


  4. #4

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    Shanx, I think you've made an extremely valid point.

    We expect things to be fixed in days -- thanks to the American information nexus. This is not going to get fixed easily and is something we'll have to live with.

    To put things in perspective.

    4,643 people were diagnosed as having TB in Hong Kong in 2001
    227 people died of it. This makes it more deadlier than SARS.
    ( http://info.gov.hk/dh/publicat/web/tbstat_e.htm )

    2743 cases of chicken pox have been reported this year.

    Didn't these expats who're leaving town hear about these diseases which are also extremely infectious and do kill?

    Hepatitis still remains a concern.

    The Pnemonia thingy while a very valid concern, should be kept in perspective.


  5. #5

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    Well at work we've been feeling the heat quite a lot thanks to our office being in Sha Tin where all the action started and thanks to one of our group company's employees being in regular touch with hospitals/health workers and thanks to being in the retail business where you get to gauge public mood up close and personal. I must say that there definitely is a sense of purpose to the whole thing now and people probably are feeling safer wearing masks, washing hands, getting their houses cleaned and also because work areas are being cleaned and the govt seems to be doing something.


    The general impression is that this is not going to go away for quite some time now so you better get used to it and take smart precautions and not spread panic.

    There's been an exodus of expat kids out of Hong Kong over the last two days since schools have got closed. People are feeling more secure sending their kids away. But for the rest of us, leaving HK and running is certainly no option.


  6. #6

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    one way to look at it

    a friend has worked out that you have a better chance of winning a mark six prize then getting the latest bug,this is what he sent me

    Draw Number : 03/025
    Draw Date : 27/03/2003
    Total Investment : HK$39,577,852

    Draw Results :
    9 21 22 26 37 48 + 35

    Prize Unit Dividend(HK$) Winning Unit
    1st 16,455,605 1.0
    2nd - - 0
    3rd 66,615 80.0
    4th 4,800 296.0
    5th 320 5,539.8
    6th 160 9,565.6
    7th 20 116,109.0


  7. #7

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    Feb 2003
    Posts
    4

    where to go !

    Well, it looks it is a question of time other countries will 'recognize' that they have a SARS infected patient among themsleves. In this scenario, there in no place to go. Particularly if you talk about leaving HK for India, it is not better than leaving for China. Places like India have their own problems in controlling epidemics, hence they take the easy way out, viz. not recognizing that there is a problem. I definetely prefer to stay in HK.


  8. #8

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    That was very nice Paul.
    Just the medicine the doctor ordered.

    The facts are definitely not to be sneezed at. ( oops)


  9. #9

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    Trust Hemlock to get this right...

    Well, after several weeks of pussy-footing around and not really taking SARS seriously, the people of Hong Kong have finally started to do what they do best – completely and utterly wetting themselves. Inspired by a rumour started on-line by a 14-year-old, mobs are descending on supermarkets in a frenzy of panic-buying. Inmates of Amoy Gardens are being rounded up and sent off to sinister-sounding “camps”. Canto-pop star Leslie Cheung has leapt to his death from a building, as has an anti-corruption official at the Jockey Club. (A more exact way to go than unmanly charcoal-burning, don’t you think? Plus you get one last look at our beautiful city.) Also in the voluntary exit department – pampered, spineless expats, like the wimps at the US Consulate, are leaving town lest their bratty kids and corpulent wives succumb to the plague that has so far hit 0.01% of us. Harvey Stockwin describes the Mainland’s cover-up of SARS as “indirect aggression against humanity through systemic incompetence.” The HK Tourism Board, never very good at rising to a challenge, has pulled its overseas “Come to Sunny Hong Kong” advertising campaign. Otherwise, you’re not missing much.
    and further down the page ... with reference to HKers falling apart because of the suicide.

    And while we’re at it, let’s get rid of these wretched counsellors. They’ve founded an entire industry encouraging people who just need a quick slap to fall to pieces every time life isn’t 100% perfect.
    From http://www.geocities.com/hkhemlock/diary-05apr03.html

  10. #10

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