Coronavirus: 'Hong Kong’s cruise terminal felt like a decontamination zone'

My original thoughts about returning to Hong Kong last weekend, nearly 30 years after I first visited, had been focused on the student protests. Would our overnight stop in the city aboard Celebrity Cruises’ Celebrity Millennium be marred by pitched battles and teargas?

As a journalist I was more intrigued than apprehensive, but it became clear as we docked last Sunday that the Chinese territory was facing a different type of battle on its streets.

The rampaging spread of the infectious coronavirus from the Chinese city of Wuhan, where it originated, was already causing shockwaves after claiming a handful of victims here in Hong Kong.

Before docking, a letter from Celebrity Millennium’s captain had been delivered to cabins explaining the situation and advising on protective measures to guard against infection. Anyone with symptoms was urged to visit the ship’s medical centre for a free examination.

Upon disembarking, Hong Kong’s Kai Tak cruise terminal felt more like a decontamination zone as lines of facemask-clad officials impassively watched us walk past.

Wall posters, in English and Chinese, warned of the dangers of communicable diseases and a sign instructed us to remove hats as an infra-red camera recorded everyone’s body temperature. An abnormally high reading could be a giveaway sign of the coronavirus.

A uniformed official handed out facemasks, and it was clear once we reached the city’s streets that this was no overreaction as nearly everyone else was similarly protected.