Coronavirus: Hong Kong reliving Sars nightmare as outbreak spreads
- While health officials have cautioned against comparisons between the case at Cheung Hong Estate and 2003’s Amoy Gardens outbreak, this week’s scenes have brought a sense of déjà vu
- Four of those affected back then share their stories
Health officials cautioned against comparisons between the case at Cheung Hong Estate and 2003’s Sars outbreak at Amoy Gardens in Kowloon Bay, but the overnight evacuation brought a sense of déjà vu, and a reminder of residents being moved to quarantine camps 17 years earlier.
Back then, the 19-block estate became ground zero for the deadly disease when a sick Shenzhen man visited his brother at block E. The entire block was later sealed off.
Sars – severe acute respiratory syndrome – ripped through the city, killing 299 of the 1,755 people it infected. Among the fatalities were eight medical staff.
Surgical masks served as the first line of defence against virus-carrying coughs and sneezes, and for months were considered essential daily attire.
Recently they have become sought-after once again, as desperate parents, housewives and elderly people queue for hours trying to get hold of some overpriced masks, in the hope of fending off the coronavirus, believed to have originated in Wuhan, Hubei province.