Clocking into work from the perspective of a medical professional in Hong Kong.
"Coronavirus took the world by surprise. It was a time of reckoning for many. The seriousness of the pandemic has at first not been recognised by health experts and governments in many countries. Agreement on public measures like the need for wearing a mask was not well agreed upon at the earlier stage and was even propagated by political leadership as a personal choice and liberty curtailment. The consequence of not following sound public health measures led to disease explosion and unfortunately widespread deaths in many places. A year on now at the beginning of 2021 many political leaderships notably in the USA have rebranded wearing masks as not a freedom limitation exercise but a collective responsibility for everyone. Together with vaccinations released in December 2020, 2021 should be looked upon as a more optimistic year as there seems to be the light at the end of the tunnel in sight. The viral onslaught allowed to be rampant has unfortunately gathered such momentum that the slowing down of the pandemic is still unconvincing this moment in 2021. Caution is still necessary.
Personally, being a medical practitioner in the private sector in Hong Kong, I have seen the inflow of patients in my clinic substantially reduced. Patients only come to see me when they can no longer wait for a blocked or painful ear to be sorted, or a worry about cancer to be alleviated. Fortunately, our government has given us cash relief and a tax break. Our highly charging medical insurance agency has lowered our subscription rate to help out. So I am still operating my clinic in a relatively normal manner even though the working hours have been slashed.
Limitation in travel abroad also means my travel plan has been scrapped completely. So I have much more spare time than say in 2019. I use this available free time to explore the city with my wife and visited many places and discover that many small businesses, coffee shops, high street shops are open for business as usual. I like to think that normally the money I spend during overseas holiday has now been spent locally to help the local community to survive if not to thrive. In addition, I find the time to work on some farmland in the countryside and rejoice in seeing seeds turning into a beetroot or a carrot or lettuce. I am now a fully-fledged farm worker with an abundant harvest. I relish into thinking that I am stronger in this pandemic through physical labour and also help out in the local economy in this difficult time by spending. I hope 2021 will see the whole world recover and everyone learn not to take health and normal life for granted. We must enjoy our liberty as well as take our collective responsibility as a human race. I hope after this pandemic ends, we all begin a new life - a fulfilling holistic life."
Written by Dr. W C Lee, HK
Illustrated by @dearmacherie
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