Lawrence J. Lau

Opinion | Life after Covid-19: how we travel, socialise and form economic supply chains must change for good

Once the epidemic is successfully controlled in China, the government should impose strict quarantine measures on incoming visitors to prevent a second wave of infection

Globally, health declarations should in future be required of all travellers, while economies must begin to diversify their sources of goods and services

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Lawrence J. Lau

Published: 6:30am, 3 Mar 2020Updated: 6:30am, 3 Mar 2020

Just as the Covid-2019 epidemic appears to be under control in China, new and serious outbreaks have occurred in South Korea, Italy, Japan, Iran and elsewhere. The virus seems to be ubiquitous and unstoppable.

While I am hopeful that the epidemic in China will be over by the end of March, I worry about the possibility of overseas visitors to China bringing back the coronavirus, officially named Sars-CoV-2, and starting another wave of infection. China cannot afford to have its hard-won and costly victory over Covid-2019 annulled by a few infected visitors from abroad.

China can and should maintain the strictest quarantine measures against everyone coming in, including its own nationals arriving from seriously infected areas – or who have passed through them – in the past 14 days. They should all be required to undergo 14 days of quarantine in government-furnished isolation facilities.

To facilitate this requirement, airports and ports of entry should be limited to Beijing, Shanghai, Tianjin and Guangzhou, with isolation facilities nearby ready to be used.

This may sound draconian and will cause disruption not only to tourism but to all commercial activities, including international trade and cross-border investment. However, this is the only safe and sure way to prevent a recurrence of a Covid-2019 epidemic in China. China will switch from being a “blocked country” to a “blocking country”.

One might ask: if every country adopts such a policy to protect its citizens, would that mean the end of globalisation? I believe it wouldn’t be the end, but the beginning of a safer and more stable form of globalisation that is less susceptible to potential disruption.