18/03/2020
HI! I've been getting many many messages regarding the pandemic, so heres a stream of useful thoughts from my personal experiences.
-Firstly, I'm based in Hong Kong, not mainland China where the outbreak is concentrated. In HK, till date there are only 167 cases, which is miraculously low considering it's directly bordered to mainland by land. This means that HK is actually and ironically one of the safest places in the world currently. So please don't worry about me.
How?
-HK has a limited number of border points, most of which were closed to mainland China very early on thanks to the fierce pressure of Hong Kongers towards the govt to do so. In Europe though, the many borders of 26 countries are open for travel, which allowed the virus to easily circulate all over there.
-Hong Kongers are naturally vigilant and self-disciplined people. For instance, earlier today I went to yoga where anyone entering the studio has to first get their temperature taken. There are sanitiser dispensers everywhere and all the yoga mats are diligently disinfected after each class by workers. Thanks to such precautions, many businesses in HK have remained open through the coronavirus outbreak.
-Wear your fu**in mask! Don't be cheap, buy them if you can. In a city of over 7 million, nearly everyone here is wearing a mask, which is why most people can still go outside (with adequate social distancing) and why businesses are still running almost normally.
-So far the data in HK shows that masks have helped to contain transmissions and have also dramatically reduced influenza cases since its flu season. The masks also help to habituate us to stop touching our faces and provide a sense of psychological comfort as well.
-Early on when the virus started, there was a major shortage of masks, sanitizer, hand soap, etc. The whole city was freaking out. But the enterprising people of HK quickly took action and now there seems to be an over supply of these items on the market since many have already stocked up.
-I highly advise you not to drink with people. When we're drunk, we tend talk louder and laugh more, which causes more flying micro droplets of saliva to your faces. You also become more careless and may touch your face more.
-If you're smoking w**d, don't share the joint. Or do the hashish style tokes where your mouths are not touching the joint tip.
-Sanitize your phone everyday! Your phone is full of s**t. I use a wipes and clean it right after I get home and then wash my hand thoroughly (for atleast 15 seconds).
-Learn mask etiquette. For example, when you take it off in public to eat, put it inside an envelope, not on the table. Try not to touch your mask cover, instead always put it on and off from the elastic string. Go watch a youtube video about this.
-Don't consume too much media. Too much doom and gloom news makes your worry and worrying weakens your immune system. Whatever you do, stay happy, dance, eat well, etc so your immune system stays strong.
-The coronavirus is not like the flu! The mortality rate of corona virus is 1.4% and flu is 0.1 or even lower%. So this new virus is 10 times more deadlier than the flu.
-The virus won't go away in April when the weather gets warmer. Thats bulls**t because the world is big, and when its warm in the southern hemisphere, it's colder in the Northern. So theres a chance it can alternate between hemispheres. Hopefully this doesn't happen.
-TEST! TEST! TEST! If you feel symptoms, go get tested. Thats the only way. However, most countries outside Asia are extremely dumb and a**l about this. Please force and pressure your governments to streamline testing at a mass scale. If you were denied testing even though you know its best for you get tested, post about your stressful experience on social and tag the local news, etc. Make a fuss until testing becomes streamlined at scale! Be brave like Hong Kongers. Don't be a p***y.
-Yes the virus does live on surfaces and in the air. The droplets released when someone coughs or sneezes can still infect people, in aerosols for at least three hours. It can also survive up to 3 days on surfaces like plastic and stainless steel and several hours on other surfaces like cardboard or copper. So don't touch your face, especially the nose, eyes or mouth.
-Don’t be racists towards Chinese or any other races struggling with the virus. China is a big country with a billion people, and many died and suffered greatly during this outbreak already. I’m well aware of the major mishandling by the Chinese govt early on, including the censorship that contributed to the pandemic. However, China later got their act together and aggressively contained the virus. So now is the time to focus, learn from each other and work together to collectively contain the virus as a human family.
This is all I can thing of now in this steady stream of thoughts. PS, I don't actually wear the goggles when I go out...but I did wear them on a business flight recently to be extra careful. Anyways stay safe.
