Originally Posted by
main_dog
https://www.cdc.gov/flu/pandemic-res...-pandemic.html
The 2009 Swine Flu was first detected in the US, although yes there is speculation that it may have originated across the border. It may just be that the US had the technical capacity and epidemiological nous to detect it first.
Anyway Mexico/US/China/Saudi or Africa, it doesn’t really matter: finger-pointing is not constructive unless you’re a politician trying to defend your job (after spectacularly dropping the ball). Learning from previous crises to avoid or contain the next is key, like HKG did by learning after SARS.
Actually, it does matter. When the country of origin, China in this case, denies the virus’ transmissibility long after knowing otherwise, there is a problem, most especially when it causes many tens of thousands of deaths and trillions in economic damage. China knew it was passing human to human. They lied about it for weeks, if not months, and silenced those who tried to say otherwise, and then exported the virus to the rest of the world from Wuhan by the thousands during New Year festivities while simultaneously locking down their own country. They were even willing to call the American travel ban on China “xenophobic”, knowing full well that the virus was spreading around the world like wildfire from Wuhan.
Sorry, but that’s huge. China’s actions will become known and exposed eventually. The truth has a sneaky way of finding its way into the light eventually. If the rest of the world is brave enough to hold China accountable, then their economy is finished, and CX with it.
At that point, it won’t matter whether you’re on 50% or 80% pay. Business as usual is a long ways off, if it ever returns. Ideally, HK would be catapulting itself back into the arms of the West, but that ship has already sailed.