The Pulse：Wuhan coronavirus update & discussion with Holden Chow & Fernando Cheung

The Wuhan coronavirus outbreak has not only become a national crisis for China, it’s also now been declared a Global Health Emergency by the World Health Organization. President Xi Jinping has described the outbreak as a “demon” affecting global health. He added he had “always been personally in command” and said he was personally organising” China’s effort to contain the deadly virus. However, as the crisis has rolled out he has kept a rather low profile and did not mention the outbreak in his Lunar New Year speech last Thursday. The day that Wuhan and many cities in Hubei province were on lockdown. On Monday, Premier Li Keqiang, visited Wuhan. He is heading the body tasked with controlling the epidemic. This week, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus expressed deep regret for referring to the worldwide risk from the virus as being “moderate” last week. Meanwhile here in Hong Kong, the slowness of the government’s response has caused panic and fear. The scarcity of protective materials such as masks and sanitising products has led to some ugly scenes at shops where supplies had run out and there are worries that a mask shortage will curb the operation of private clinics.

The number of confirmed coronavirus cases continues to rise in Hong Kong. As we saw in part one, medical staff and health care workers are upset at the government’s sluggish response to the outbreak and are planning industrial action. With us in the studio are lawmakers Holden Chow of the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong and Fernando Cheung of the Labour Party.