Hong Kongers, worried about the possible influx of mutant strains of COVID-19 when the border with China reopens this weekend, have laid bare pharmacy shelves once stocked with nonprescription drugs for alleviating symptoms.
The panic purchasing of medicines prior to the Sunday reopening has prompted many pharmacies to impose quotas on the purchase of over-the-counter medicines for cold and fever, pain relief and diarrhea. The situation in Hong Kong mirrors that in China, where authorities are urging pharmacies to sell these drugs in smaller packages so more people can buy them.
And while there is a relief in Hong Kong that the economically important tourist traffic from China will pick up once the border opens, worry about what variants may arrive with the visitors has fueled the run on pharmacies.
Faced with empty shelves, Hong Kong consumers are buying whatever medicines they think might be useful, as experts have said the unprecedented surge of omicron cases increases the probability of a new virus mutation taking hold in China.
Late last month, Chief Executive John Lee announced that Hong Kong would cancel mandatory PCR tests for arriving travelers, including those coming from China. Many countries are imposing or considering imposing curbs on travelers from China amid the COVID-19 surge there. Nations that have imposed restrictions on travelers from China include the United States, Britain, France, Spain, Italy, India, Japan, South Korea and Taiwan.
At least 60,000 people a day will be allowed to cross the border each way without quarantining as of Sunday, according to the South China Morning Post, a Hong Kong newspaper. The reopening roughly coincides with advent of the first Lunar New Year celebration since 2019. The holiday, January 21-27 this year, is a traditional time of travel for family visits.
Cheung Wing-tak, vice chairman of the Hong Kong General Chamber Pharmacy Ltd., said on a radio program broadcast Wednesday that there's a shortage of anti-diarrhea medicines. Also, depending on the brand, pharmacists are out of some painkillers and fever reducers, although paracetamol, which is also used to treat fever and mild to moderate pain, remains available. He said he expected the supply to return to normal after the long Lunar New Year holiday, but he did not expect Hong Kong to be able to cope with demand from mainland China.
Short-term supplies urged
William Chui Chun-ming, president of the Hospital Pharmacists of Hong Kong, spoke on the same program, according to the Hong Kong Standard, and urged people to refrain from hoarding medicine. He said keeping a five-day supply on hand was sufficient because if symptoms persist longer than that, people should seek medical attention.
Miss Tam, a Hongkonger who works in marketing, told VOA Cantonese on Wednesday that she had stocked up on a variety of medicines. After a family member incurred an injury, she bought drugs for joint pain. Like all other interviewees in this story, she asked VOA Cantonese to use a pseudonym because of fear of government retaliation.
Panic buying "is very serious," she said. "I have been looking for medicines for the past few weeks."
Miss Tam said she worried about the risk of mutated viruses entering Hong Kong after the border with China reopens. She said she's puzzled about why the border is reopening during the case surge in China.
China spent nearly three years under a draconian "zero-COVID" policy that aimed to control the spread of the virus with lockdowns, involuntary quarantining and daily health checks. On December 7, the government announced it would eliminate travel and other restrictions. Since then, COVID cases and deaths have skyrocketed among a population with little immunity and oftentimes poor access to vaccines and health care.
Many Hongkongers anxious to get vaccinated before the border reopens are finding community vaccine stations are fully booked.
A Hongkonger with the pseudonym Miss Lee told VOA Cantonese that she arrived at a vaccination station before noon on Wednesday to get in line for a vaccine session that began at 2:30 p.m. She expected to be jabbed by 4 p.m.
A Hongkonger who asked to use the pseudonym Mr. Hong Kong told VOA Cantonese that he was trying to get vaccinated before the border reopens, when "there will be more people in Hong Kong, and the contagion will be higher."
He and many others expect the reopening to revive Hong Kong's retail and catering industries, where many businesses have gone bankrupt or downsized without Chinese tourists.
Before the pandemic, tourism made up 4.5% of Hong Kong's gross domestic product and employed about 257,000 people, accounting for about 6.6% of total employment, according to government figures. In 2018, of the 65 million tourists visiting Hong Kong, 78% were mainlanders, compared with the 91,000 tourists that arrived last year.
Mr. Hong Kong also cautiously emphasized the importance of self-protection, because, he said, "what happens when reopening starts, I think no Hongkonger knows for sure."
Adrianna Zhang contributed to this report.
