As a Hong Konger, I continue to be baffled by the public response in Europe. Though most are concerned, many are still acting like it's nbd. HK was in the news because of #COVIDー19 a month ago. There are travel advisories against HK. Peopled abroad asked me about it. 1/
There are STILL only ~130 cases in Hong Kong. There are now 798 cases in the UK & ppl are still out & about as if nothing is wrong. When I was in Milan (at a time when there were 3,000 cases), I was shocked at the lack of concern, including from police & health workers. 2/
When I was in Milan, I didn't understand how relaxed people were, and I felt like I was the crazy one. I kept trying to convey my disbelief and the severity of the situation to my colleagues, and how worried it made me for Italy – and Europe. 3/
Many shops were certainly closed and the streets were quiet, but I was told that people were actually coming back out after getting tired of being inside for a week. A few days later, Milan was put under lockdown, followed by the rest of the country. 4/
Of course HK's unique, w/ its population density and its border w/ China. And we have our history w/ SARS etc. But still – as a HKer who followed the Wuhan epidemic closely – I continue to be surprised at the European public reaction (though more + more are starting to panic). 5/
When the world has time to look back, it'll be fascinating to look at the role that culture played in the public reaction to the pandemic & the effectiveness of health communication. (BTW, I majored in international health, so I'm extra conscious of this stuff to begin with.) 6/
I have been under voluntary self-isolation in France, although surprisingly the govt still says you can *continue to go to work or to school* if you've come back from an affected area in the last 14 days & don't have symptoms. France will soon hit 3,000 cases. 7/
Clearly the guidelines haven't been updated to reflect Macron's announcement last night that all schools and universities would be closed, but here they are. bit.ly/2TLPsaM 8/ 
I am now reaching out to London friends to tell them to be careful. Hong Kong has had at least 4 new cases in the last few days that may have been imported from London/UK, & that's where Sophie Trudeau got it. I think there's way more cases in London than people realize. 9/
I spent one night in the UK after getting back from Milan last week. At the time the NHS didn't recommend travellers from Milan to self-isolate. I remember taking the tube and marveling at all these people in close proximity, with no masks on. 10/
I saw one woman on the tube with a mask and gloves on, but... she rested her face and head on the pole. I saw a man absent-mindedly cough in a girl's face, and apologize profusely when he realized what he had done. We were all jam-packed together. 11/
Anyway, all this to say that as someone who came from Hong Kong to Europe, I feel like I've been gaslit by everyone around me. That I'm the crazy one. That everything is fine. It makes me worried & makes me want to go home to HK because that feels like the safest place rn. 12/
I began self-isolating on Sunday, when the UK changed their guidelines for travelers from Milan, even though I am in France and they still have no such recommendation. This has all been weighing on me for the past 10 days... so thanks for coming to my TED talk. 13/
Many observations, conversations and personal experiences sparked this thread, but the one that possibly pushed me over the edge was this DM from a stranger in Germany (3,150 confirmed cases), asking me whether he should holiday in Hong Kong in Q3. 14/
I (perhaps mistakenly) assumed he was asking about the political situation bc he had previously complimented me on my HK protest reporting. Either way... HK announced today all arrivals from the Schengen area, incl. Germany, would be placed under mandatory home quarantine. 15/
I can't tell you how common this kind of statement is in Hong Kong right now. When schools got shut down in HK, many immigrant parents took their kids to the US or to Europe. And now... yeah. 16/
