COVID-19 Diaries: What It’s Like Living In A “Contaminated Area” In Hong Kong

JT lives in an area in Hong Kong where several cases of COVID-19 were found over a short period of time and an apartment building was even evacuated after 4 people from 2 households were found to be infected. We asked him how he dealt with that and all the other changes COVID-19 brings. 

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Q: There were several cases found near your apartment, is that true?

A: Yes, a few cases were found in Tsing Yi within a week.(Villa Esplanada and Hong Mei House respectively). The cases in Hong Mei House were suspected to be infected by aerosol transmission. The government evacuated around a hundred people at midnight immediately. 

[Interviewer Note: During aerosol transmission, the virus is suspended as very tiny droplets in the air, viable for around 30 minutes.]

How were you affected by the outbreak? And what do you think of aerosol transmission?

Since my home is quite close to the [Hong Mei House] building (a 10-minute walk away), I was very terrified and avoided going out to minimise risk of infection. I use disinfectant to sterilise the house every day. I think aerosol transmission is not too different from airborne transmission. The people in Hong Mei House were infected by the contaminated air droplets transmitted via ventilation pipes. 

So some people got infected simply by staying at home?

The infected patients were living in same block. The government said the virus could have been transmitted via a vent pipe in the toilet. Possibly because one of the pipes was wrongly designed or too old.

If the virus keeps spreading in your area, what will you do to fight against it?

The people in my building said there was an infected case here. Terrified, I stocked up a lot of food supplies, disinfectant and masks (around 200 masks). I also stayed home for many days since I can work from home being a back office staff in a bank. However, it turned out to be a false positive case.

Do you enjoy working from home?

Not really. I have not been feeling very well. My legs have started to cramp recently, maybe because of the lack of exercise at home. I got diarrhoea three days ago and am still not feeling well.

I read from the newspaper that some of the staff in a bank were found not doing their jobs right—they went hiking when they were supposed to be working at home. Do you think working from home works? 

Working from home makes me more efficient at this point. I don’t know about the others plus the people on the news are from another bank.

The residents of Hong Mei House have since been returned to their homes after all 101 of them tested negative for the virus. JT cannot imagine what life would be like next, other than knowing he would likely not be travelling. “I used to go several times per year…” 

More interviews with people whose lives have been disrupted by COVID-19 coming up next week. Follow the latest in our COVID-19 Diaries series here.

If you’re in a country that has been affected by the novel coronavirus and would like to share information about the situation where you’re at, do get in touch with us here.

Photographs courtesy and copyright of JT. Interviewer: Kauai
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