Abacus | Overweight China and obese America put tubby Hong Kong in a difficult position
- China has caught up with the US on rates of obesity, which exposes a significant risk to the population if Covid-19 gets back in
- Hong Kong is caught between a rock and a hard place in opening up the border: by opting for free movement with China, it can’t open up to foreign travel from elsewhere
Dimon is the latest high-profile visitor allowed to skip the 21-day quarantine, on the basis his visit would benefit Hong Kong’s development.
With mandatory lock-ups in a quarantine hotel, the Hong Kong government has essentially isolated the city from the global business community except for the very elite, and made travel to the territory uncomfortable and expensive.
This is against the backdrop of much of the rest of the world doing the opposite, and deciding that the way forward is to live with the coronavirus and return to a new fist-bumping “normal”. Understandably, Hong Kong’s quarantine regime has drawn substantial criticism from many residents and the foreign community.
However, I wonder if there is something we are overlooking when criticising the tough stance taken by Hong Kong towards international travel as it plans to open borders to China – there is an acute infection risk that opens up to the mainland if Hong Kong also reopened to the West.
What we have learned about Covid-19 over the past two years is that it impacts certain groups of people more than others, for whom symptoms can be worse and the recovery from infection difficult or impossible.
02:20
Hong Kong microbiologist blames 'selfish' mask for Covid-19 cross infection at quarantine hotel
So who gets the worst symptoms?
