Jessie Lau

Hong Kong is baffled by Britain’s coronavirus response

From our UK edition

To Hongkongers, Britain's coronavirus response is nothing short of a disaster. Since I began self-isolating in London days before the official lockdown started on 23 March, I’ve received dozens of messages from loved ones back home in Hong Kong expressing their concern – and incredulity. Despite advance warnings since January of how serious the situation was in Asia, the UK’s initial approach was slow and lax even compared to many of its European counterparts. The choice to offset infections by mitigating rather than controlling the virus allowed it to spread unchecked and likely condemned the economy to a protracted lockdown, as well as a tragically higher death toll.