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SCMP Series
Coronavirus and governance
12 of 12
3
How the coronavirus is exposing the ills of the China model
Illustration: Craig Stephens
4
Coronavirus is testing the limits of China’s, and Hong Kong’s, preparedness
Illustration: Craig Stephens
5
Why China’s economy is more resilient now than during Sars
A woman wearing a face mask leaves a supermarket with a loaded shopping trolley in Changsha in China’s Hunan province on January 29. China’s market regulator has vowed to punish businesses engaging in price-gouging. Photo: Reuters
6
A shortage of masks, toilet paper and leadership hits Hong Kong
Hongkongers put themselves at risk of contracting the new coronavirus by flocking to buy masks, rice and toilet paper. Photo: Nora Tam
7
Why we might have to accept that the coronavirus could be here to stay
A security guard wearing a protective mask checks the temperature of a person entering an office building in Singapore. Photo: Bloomberg
8
Six ways the coronavirus crisis will change China’s relations with the outside world
A woman wearing a mask walks past a temporarily closed Apple store in Beijing on February 4. The American tech giant has closed all stores in China due to the coronavirus outbreak. Photo: AP
9
How China is finding the silver lining in the coronavirus crisis
Illustration: Craig Stephens
10
Coronavirus is a wake-up call for China’s autocratic style of rule
A portrait of Chinese President Xi Jinping on a street in Shanghai. Photo: Reuters
11
Singapore ‘idiot’s guide’ to coronavirus control: don’t do it like Hong Kong
One shoppers gets her fill of toilet paper at a supermarket in Wan Chai. Photo: Nora Tam
12
Coronavirus cooperation shows a world better prepared to hunt down disease
Illustration: Craig Stephens
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Illustration: Craig Stephens
Opinion
Opinion
by Christine Loh
Opinion
by Christine Loh

Coronavirus cooperation shows how the world is getting better at hunting down disease

  • Compared to Sars in 2003, more is known about Covid-19, and more quickly, thanks to advances in science and technology and an improved awareness of the importance of data sharing and collaboration. And we continue to learn from current experience
Christine Loh
Christine Loh
Why you can trust SCMP

Many things have changed since 2003 when severe acute respiratory syndrome struck mainland China and Hong Kong. There was much panic then, too. With the new coronavirus, which causes the disease known as Covid-19, there has been a magnitude of change, and more change is on the horizon even as we are unsure of the longer-term impact.

Hunting down diseases is about collaboration. When the then-unknown Sars reared its ugly head in 2003, the World Health Organisation activated its electronically linked global flu network, working with 11 top research laboratories around the world to identify the causative agent.

The network was a virtual global research lab with participating institutions from many countries, including three from Hong Kong. The priority was speed, as the virus was spreading quickly. If the WHO had to wait for each lab, working individually, to put forward its full findings, it would have taken too long.

Putting everyone to work together, sharing their findings, sped things up. The global network buzzed across time zones. Each day, there was a call which everyone joined. Genetic sequences, photographs and other data were posted on a secure team website. Chemicals required for experiments and cell cultures were shipped around the world within hours of a request.

The three teams from Hong Kong were the virologists from the University of Hong Kong, Chinese University of Hong Kong, and Department of Health. It was Hong Kong’s work that helped to piece together a partial genetic fingerprint of what would be known as Sars.

The finding, immediately shared with the WHO network, enabled teams in Canada, the United States and Hong Kong to sequence the virus and produce its genome map within days of each other.

It helped to confirm the veracity of their findings. In just over a month of setting up the network, the collaboration had a complete genetic map of Sars. The WHO described the pace of research as “astounding”.

With Covid-19, a month after the first case was reported in China on December 8, mainland scientists sequenced its genome and made it public online. Researchers around the world could scrutinise the sequence and add their insights.

What is doable today compared to 2003 has been enhanced by advancements in science and the importance of sharing data and knowledge. The mainland’s capability has come a long way, too.

There is much information online about Covid-19. For example, the Centre for Systems Science and Engineering at Johns Hopkins University in the US has created a real-time map of the viral spread.
There are all kinds of open-access data and research available for free, and major scientific publishers have removed paywalls to allow the downloading of relevant research. Even commercial companies are contributing by opening up their predictive algorithms for experts to use.
Hong Kong’s capabilities remain robust. Besides competence in virology, a team of researchers from the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology recently invented the world’s fastest portable Covid-19 detection device, taking just 40 minutes from sampling to testing, compared to 1½-3 hours using current technology.
Moreover, researchers from Hong Kong Polytechnic University have developed a system that can identify up to 40 types of bacteria or viruses linked to respiratory infections in an hour. This can help doctors speed up their diagnoses for patients with similar symptoms.
With classes closed for schools and universities, teaching and learning has moved online, while business meetings and transactions are also being live-streamed. On the mainland and in Hong Kong, this experiment is taking place on a very large scale.

It is unclear how things will evolve but online teaching and arrangements to study and work from home will leave their mark on society.

Too close for comfort: what will the virus do to Hong Kong’s social customs?

From January 23, the mainland started to roll out arrangements to lock down Wuhan and other places, and an estimated 500 million people are affected by movement restrictions. There is currently some sort of lockdown in place in four provinces and across 48 cities. While this has created massive inconveniences, there will be lessons learned too, in closing or restricting borders.
What has not changed is making sure hospitals, as the front line in fighting infectious diseases, know the drill in preventing infection. Hong Kong’s experience with Sars is a reminder of the importance of hospital management to ensure health workers know what to do.
A high level of infection among health workers is a sign that they need to be better trained. In 2003, those hospitals that were better drilled in prevention had significantly lower infection rates among their health workers.

The WHO warned then that it was not enough to be 100 per cent ready for infectious diseases – the authorities need to be 300 per cent ready. That is a sobering thought.

Christine Loh, a former undersecretary for the environment, is an adjunct professor at Hong Kong University of Science and Technology

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