Don't panic as deja vu hits

It's absolutely clear that the Wuhan virus epidemic is more acute than feared now that the provincial capital of Hubei has been placed under a de-facto lockdown.

Hong Kong also has two cases, with the patients isolated and treated at Princess Margaret Hospital. A holiday center is also being converted into a quarantine facility to monitor those who have been in close contact with the patients.

There is such a feeling of deja vu from 16 years ago and it is the very last thing want to go through again. But, since the health crisis is already happening, Hongkongers must face it calmly and without panic.

While I have every trust in our courageous medical staff fighting the battle in the frontline, we - members of the general public - must also do our part to help them win the war yet again.

It is good to see more people wearing masks, and everyone must maintain a high level of personal hygiene at all times, washing their hands regularly and cleaning their homes with bleach solution - as we learned to do during the SARS epidemic in 2002-2003.

Parents with young children should also teach them to follow their examples to be hygienic.

Meanwhile, Health Secretary Sophia Chan Siu-chee should know society has high expectation of her and her colleagues to take the lead to fortify our health defenses.

It remains a mystery how the new coronavirus started in Wuhan's notorious seafood market.

Since the disease has spread to the rest of the nation and many other countries, Hong Kong health officials should urgently review whether the measures that have been put in place since the alert are adequate.

For example, should voluntary health declarations be made mandatory and extended to passengers not only from Wuhan but also other mainland cities with cases - whether they arrive by train or other means?

Granted, such health declarations are not necessarily fool-proof.

Renowned University of Hong Kong virologist Guan Yi told mainland media that Wuhan may have missed the golden opportunity to contain the disease spread.

He was pessimistic that the outbreak could be 10 times worse than SARS.

A key part of our health defense is to stop probable cases at the border.

The SAR's first case was intercepted at the West Kowloon express rail terminus. The second case, however, was able to slip through the monitoring due to a lack of identifiable symptoms.

It is most likely that Hong Kong will see more cases in the coming days with the risk of so-called "invisible patients" becoming a greater cause for concern.

While the health chief should review the system regularly to boost the defense line, people in general must react to the changing situation calmly and not panic.